Most Reform congregations would welcome the participation of non-Jewish family members or friends. Can non-Jews participate in b'nai mitzvah services? Honors vary from congregation to congregation. There are opportunities for family members and friends to recite the Torah blessings in Hebrew, to pass the Torah, to open and close the Ark in which the Torah scrolls are kept, to deliver a speech about the student, and to be involved with the removing of the ornaments and replacing of the ornaments on the Torah scroll. Does anyone else participate in b'nai mitzvah services other than the 13-year-old and the clergy? There are also synagogues at which students will speak about their Hebrew names, thank all those who have helped them to reach their special day, or talk about special projects they did that benefited other people. At some synagogues, students may also deliver speeches that they have written about the Torah portion assigned for that weekend or the haftarah portion (a selection from one of the books of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible). You can usually count on the student reading and/or chanting Hebrew from the Torah scroll and from the prayer book, and possibly reading some prayers in English. It depends on the requirements and customs of each congregation. That is not necessarily the case anymore and most Reform congregations don't differentiate between when boys and girls can have their services. By the way, some people remember girls only having the chance to become "Bas Mitzvah" on Friday evenings at Conservative congregations a number of years ago. In addition, b'nai mitzvah services can occur on Rosh Chodesh-the first day of the Hebrew month. Some congregations schedule them for Friday evening and some for Saturday evening. ![]() Most b'nai mitzvah services are conducted on Shabbat morning (Saturday morning). There are some synagogues in which students share their service with another student-either a brother or sister or a student who is not related to them. Usually, it's in the sanctuary of the synagogue and the child participates on the bimah, the area from which the service is conducted (it's never called a "stage"), along with the rabbi and cantor. Different synagogues have different requirements as to whether a service can take place before the child's 13th birthday or not. In Reform synaagogues, most boys and girls become bat or bar mitzvah around their 13th birthday. At what age does this happen for these boys and girls? The boys become a bar mitzvah and the girls become a bat mitzvah. And, students don't really "get bar/bat mitzvahed " and rabbis and cantors don't "bar/bat mitzvah " a student. The term applies to a person, not an event. So you don't really go to a bar mitzvah or a bat mitzvah? ![]() B'not Mitzvah (Daughters of the Commandment) refers only to girls. Bar mitzvah means "Son of the Commandment." Bat mitzvah means "Daughter of the Commandment." B'nai mitzvah is the plural, meaning "Children of the Commandment" and would apply to more than one boy or a number of boys and girls as a group.
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