Anna Salomon is creating her own b'nai mitzvah revolution among families in her congregation, Temple Beth-El in St. Petersburg. She shared her winning idea with us, and won a $300 scholarship towards the tuition to attend Deborah Grayson Riegel's Jewish Coaching Academy this fall.
Congratulations Anna, from your colleagues at Behrman House! Read about Anna's idea here:
"B’nai mitzvah is both a joy and a curse. Families eagerly anticipate the milestone and work hard to achieve that rite of passage that is the modern day b’nei mitzvah track. At the same time, they check it off their list and check Jewish life off as well – marking it as “achieved” and “done”. One of the ways we’re addressing the issue here at Temple Beth-El is through our family education components.
In our efforts to revitalize a family education component for years leading up to b’nai mitzvah, we have taken “Be Your Best Self”, “Building Family Connections”, and “Be a Good Friend” (from the Behrman House Living Jewish Values series) and used them to spark discussions and explorations of our familial Jewish values.
Together as a group, parents and students have facilitated discussions about the lesson contents. We’ve reshaped the questions in the quizzes to be worded in a way relevant to parents and kids alike, and had them look at the results of the quizzes to see where they fall and whether they agree or not – or were surprised or not. Students also have the experience of interacting with other parents – not just their own – to explore content.
We’ve also used it to explore the true meaning of b’nai mitzvah and how b’nai mitzvah celebrations reflect our personal and familial Jewish values. This experience has helped us build common ground, have discussions a little outside of typical conversations with our families, truly reflect and think about the overall b’nei mitzvah experience, and explore meaningful ways we can both reflect on ourselves and potentially make ourselves better/grow individually and as a family.
It’s all part of our change to make b’nai mitzvah a true change and entry to greater Jewish life, rather than an exit."
How are you creating an environment for Jewish educational change?
You, too, can win a scholarship to help you attend the Jewish Coaching Academy. Our next winner will be selected November 4. Just send us your idea for Jewish educational change using resources from Behrman House or Babaganewz. Apply here.
