B’nai Mitzvah Seminar – 6th Grade Class

Getting Ready

• B’nai Mitzvah dates are generally assigned to students in the fall of the 5^th grade based on the student’s date of birth and family requests.
• Our 6th grade students and their parents participate in the B’nai Mitzvah seminar on select Sunday mornings during the 6^th grade year.
• Students begin individual tutoring sessions with our B’nai Mitzvah tutor approximately six months in advance of their Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Those sessions are typically once a week for 30 minutes.
• During those six months students also study with a mentor, an adult in our community who is trained to guide each child through his/her parasha (portion) in English to ensure each student’s deeper understanding of the text.
• Students also determine a mitzvah initiative. Engagement in this initiative is an integral part of the process of becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
• Approximately two months prior to their Bar/Bat Mitzvah, students begin meeting individually with Rabbi to discuss their understanding of their Torah portion and to prepare a thoughtful D’var Torah. The purpose of this address is twofold:  first, for the student to express some of his or her feelings on the occasion; and second, for the student to relate a lesson from the Torah or Haftarah portion of the day to current life.