Bar Mitzvahs Get New Look to Build Faith

Laurie Goodstein of The New York Times reports that leaders in the Reform movement, the largest branch of Judaism, are trying to reinvent the bar and bat mitzvah process. According to Goodstein, the rite of passage has been treated as a graduation ceremony rather than an entry to Jewish life; as a result, many young Jewish adults leave the synagogue after the ceremony, without returning until they have kids of their own. Under the B’Nai Mitzvah Revolution, parents would likely play a larger role in the bar and bat mitzvah process and there would be a shift from prayer to social action.

Read at The New York Times

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