Bar Mitzvah

From a father’s curious blessing to a boy’s first tefillin and the modern bat mitzvah debate, the Jewish coming-of-age celebration has a history as varied as the communities that observe it.

From wearing tefillin and receiving an aliyah to planning the celebration, discover the essential traditions, customs, and practical steps to prepare for a meaningful Bar Mitzvah

Explore four practical halachic questions about Kaddish, joining a minyan, responding to prayers, and calculating a boy's bar mitzvah date.

Unable to speak or read from the Torah, 13-year-old Mendy Cooper celebrated his bar mitzvah with a Torah scroll written in his honor and delivered his message using his eyes, offering a powerful lesson about belonging and the value of every Jew

A Haredi family from the United States came to Israel to celebrate their son's bar mitzvah—and turned the private occasion into a meaningful initiative, donating 25 elegant sets of tefillin to soldiers in the Paratroopers Brigade.

What began as friendly conversations between two balconies became an unexpected friendship and, ultimately, the joyful bar mitzvah Yehuda never had.

A practical halachic guide to weddings, bar mitzvahs, brit milah, Chanukah parties, Simchat Torah, Purim, and other celebrations during the mourning period according to Jewish law and tradition

13 years after saving a newborn baby born without a pulse, an MDA team reunited with him at his bar mitzvah celebration.

A mother watches her son’s first tefillin with pride and joy, while quietly praying that the connection he feels today will stay with him for years to come.

Twelve years after saving Nadav’s life from a dangerous brain injury, the doctor who treated him returned for a powerful and emotional Bar Mitzvah reunion.

Why the Hebrew calendar adds an extra Adar, how it affects Purim and life-cycle events, and the powerful message of sixty days of happiness

A behind-the-scenes conversation on meaning, connection, and making every visitor feel at home

Fascinating insights gleaned from a wedding in Prague 250 years ago