We asked readers to cast their vote for St. Louis’ top businesses that help to make bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings and other celebrations occasions to remember for a lifetime. More than 700 people voted in the poll and on the following pages, find the results. We have listed the first-, seco…
There are parties, and then there are PARTIES.
From the outside, a bar or bat mitzvah can seem routine. Teenagers study for a few years, have a ceremony when they are either 12 or 13 years old and then have a party. However, the path often is more complex for those who are not able to go through the typical process. Jewish adults who wer…
Jewish teens and their families will remember their b’nai mitzvahs for as long as they live. They can also look fondly back on those of their friends. Here, we ask four Jewish teens their favorite friends’ b’nai mitzvahs.
Guests at Congregation Temple Israel’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner for Those in Need typically just head to the auditorium for a meal with the usual holiday spread. But on Wednesday last week, after they finished eating, they were also invited to go to the chapel.
Studying for a bar or bat mitzvah can be one of the most nerve-racking experiences in a young teenager’s life. There are months upon months of studying, which often place teens in high-stress situations. Often times students carry enormous anxiety with them as their bar or bat mitzvah approaches.
After forming a Hebrew school specifically for secular Israelis, Bais Abraham recently created a yearlong bar and bat mitzvah program for Israeli families living in the St. Louis area.
For Barbara Lewington, the Chai Mitzvah program isn’t so much a new experience as it is an ongoing extension of her faith.
On Saturday, I had the joy of attending the bar mitzvah of my friend Paul Gallant at Congregation B’nai Amoona. Paul is 82 years old.
I’m convinced Paul coined the phrase, “You’re never too old to rock and roll,” because Paul has never allowed age to define him, or hold him back. Long ago he decided an old dog could learn new tricks, and learn them well, as witnessed by the fact that he first took up running at age 57. And we’re not just talking a casual jog around the park.
Josh Fingerman is creating custom-made mezuzahs from Legos as his mitzvah project. He sells them for $36 and has already raised more than $2,500, which he plans to donate to three nonprofit organizations, including Temple Israel, where he will become a bar mitzvah in October.
Chase Pultman, who has High Functioning Autism, became a bar mitzvah in February at B’nai Amoona. In the attached PDF, read his moving d'var Torah about the counting of the Jewish People at Mount Sinai, and how he feels at times that because of his autism, he does not always “count” in the e…
On a recent Shabbat morning, the sanctuary at Central Reform Congregation is bathed in sunlight and alive with music and dance. Independence Day was the day before, but the festivities aren’t in honor of the July Fourth weekend. Instead, as the ruckus dies down, the words of Scott Goldman ri…
For many Jewish pre-teens, the most daunting aspect of their bar/bat mitzvah is the idea of a mitzvah project, or an act of charity that betters the community. After it is successfully completed, numerous experience a sense of fulfillment, and promise to further this charitable activity with…
It is among the best-known Jewish traditions, one that often sees parents and children alike preparing for months. But Rabbi Ze’ev Smason knows the ceremony marking Jewish adulthood can come with a price.
NEW YORK — Dressed in a black-and-white tuxedo and surrounded by a Secret Service detail, former President Bill Clinton greeted well-wishers at a bar mitzvah held at an upscale hotel in Los Angeles, shaking hands with guests and patiently posing for pictures. Once everyone had arrived, the …
Mazel Tov on your upcoming simcha! It’s never too early to start thinking about your bar or bat mitzvah, and I advise you to approach this important rite of passage not as a sort of graduation ceremony, but as a meaningful transition towards Jewish adulthood.
As young people, bar and bat mitzvah parties helped us build character: Awkward social interactions, quiet slow-dances where you desperately try not to make eye contact, and condescending head-pats from adults and kids taller than us.
Caleb Micah Pultman
With his mom’s track record, Blake Berg figured he would enjoy himself. What the 13-year-old did not anticipate was having “the best time of my life.”
LOS ANGELES — More and more families planning bar and bat mitzvahs are taking the advice of Jeffrey Salkin, author of “Putting God on the Guest List,” by making sure to incorporate spiritual elements into their celebrations.
Serial entrepreneur Lynn Hamilton has gone into the T-shirt business, with a mash-up brand of her own Olympic making.
The Jewish Light is planning a series of special events this year, beginning on Thursday, Feb. 20 with a luncheon at …
John Burroughs senior Gabe Fleisher has been tapped to host a new KWMU (STL’s NPR affiliate) podcast, “Wake Up To Pol…
“JewishGirlProbs” is an Instagram page known internationally for its funny and relatable content. Begun by Aly Silver…
People enjoy celebrating their birthdays with parties, but not everyone gets that luxury. Joey, son of Lisa and Larry Carson of Chesterfield, realized this and wanted to make a change. He wanted more kids to have great birthday parties like he had enjoyed.
People enjoy celebrating their birthdays with parties, but not everyone gets that luxury. Joey, son of Lisa and Larry Carson of Chesterfield, realized this and wanted to make a change. He wanted more kids to have great birthday parties like he had enjoyed.
Sam Deutsch, Congregation B’nai Amoona
People enjoy celebrating their birthdays with parties, but not everyone gets that luxury. Joey, son of Lisa and Larry Carson of Chesterfield, realized this and wanted to make a change. He wanted more kids to have great birthday parties like he had enjoyed.
Sasha Albright | Congregation Shaare Emeth
Orli Hahn | Congregation Shaare Emeth
Faith Hollander | Congregation Shaare Emeth & Madison Miederhoff | Congregation B’nai Amoona
At 5 years old, while visiting family in Washington, D.C., Ethan witnessed firsthand the homeless issue in the United States. It was difficult for him to understand why these people were sleeping on park benches, street corners and in alleys without a safe or stable place to call home. Even though it was foreign to him, Ethan was determined to seek out homeless people in other cities he and his family visited and feed them a hot meal.
As hard as it was studying Hebrew for her bat mitzvah and as nerve racking as it was standing on the bimah in front of more than 100 people, Kate said it was all worth it. That’s because it brought her to the beginning of her mitzvah project at Country Acres Pet Rescue in Manchester.
Brian Isele | Congregation Shaare Emeth
