Bar/Bat Mitzvah Basics: A Practical Family Guide to Coming of Age Together [Paperback]

Cantor Helen Leneman (Editor), Julie Gordon (Introduction), Jeffrey K. Salkin (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1996

This practical guide gives families the how-to information they need not only how to navigate the bar/bat mitzvah process, but how to grow as a family through this coming-of-age experience. For the first time in one book, all who are directly involved in bar and bat mitzvah offer their practical insights into how the process can be made easier and more enjoyable for everyone. Rabbis, cantors, and Jewish educators from the Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist movements, parents, and even teens speak from their own experiences.

Topics include:
What it s all about from start to finish, tutoring, stress, expectations, negotiating the ceremony and the celebration (including issues related to divorced and interfaith families), how to design a creative service, and advice on planning a reception that neither breaks the bank nor detracts from the inherent spirituality of the event. A practical companion to Putting God on the Guest List.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Out of her vast experience as a Cantor and educator, Leneman has written an important guide that strengthens and solidifies the family through the wisdom and warmth of Judaism.
Rabbi Harold Schulweis, author of For Those Who Can t Believe

About the Author

Helen Leneman is a cantor in Rockville, Md., whose specialty is barmitzvah education. She is Chair of the CAJE (Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education) B nai Mitzvah Educators Network and is the author of BarMitzvah Education: A Sourcebook.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879045540
• ISBN-13: 978-1879045545
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,088,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable Guide to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Experience, December 3, 1999

By 

Susan L. (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bar/Bat Mitzvah Basics: A Practical Family Guide to Coming of Age Together (Paperback)

I have never written one of these "reviews" for amazon.com before, but I feel compelled to share with readers this fantastic, absolutely indispensable book. If you are planning a bar or bat mitzvah for your child or grandchild, or know of a family that is planning this important coming of age ceremony for their child, this book is for you. My daughter became Bat Mitzvah several years ago, and I really wish this book had been around when we were going through the experience. It is such a valuable guide! I gave the book as a gift to a close friend, and he said that it helped his family create a truly meaningful experience for all of them, in planning the service for his daughter's becoming Bat Mitzvah. The book is designed to help families "cope" with the myriad details involved in planning for this wonderful family life cycle event. The book is particularly sensitive to interfaith, divorced, and alternative families, and their unique needs and experiences.

There is also a particularly wonderful chapter on the Bar/Bat Mitzvah experience for a special needs child. What I particularly like about the book is the fact that it contains contributed chapters from rabbis, cantors, educators, sociologists, and other experts- and even parents and teens- all of whom share their unique perspectives. This isn't one person's "philosophy", but rather a compendium of insights, ideas, and advice. The cover of the book says "How to manage the process with grace, joy and good sense". The book succeeds in that, and I can't imagine anyone planning a Bar/Bat Mitzvah for their child without this handy family guide!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Basics is the operative key word, July 3, 2002

By 

tzefirah "tzefirah" (Media, PA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bar/Bat Mitzvah Basics: A Practical Family Guide to Coming of Age Together (Paperback)

As an adult preparing for bat mitzvah, this book was much too basic for me. I also attend synagogue regularly, and most of this stuff is routine from the service.

While this book was well written, it is for novices and non-attendees and their children.

I do not have a title to recommend for adults preparing for bar/bat mitzvah.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly the only book you'll need as a Bar/Bat Mitzvah guide, May 5, 2001

By 

K. Corn "reviewer" (midwest, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Bar/Bat Mitzvah Basics: A Practical Family Guide to Coming of Age Together (Paperback)

I'm amazed at how much information the author managed to get into this book, written with the guideance of Rabbis, cantors and educators frm the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements. If you hate reading pages of useless information and are looking for a well-researched, tightly written guide for preparing for and celebrating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, I doubt you'll find many books better than this one. In addition to the basics you'd expect to find (Planning, Budgeting, the Ceremony), there are also special sections on interfaith and divorced families, what questions to ask about preparation (what a timesaver!), lessons and tips from families and teens who have completed Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonies, making the Theme meaningful, whether or not to use a party planner, tips for families with special needs children and more.