The Ultimate Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration Book: A Guide to Inspiring Ceremonies and Joyous Festivities [Paperback]

Jayne Cohen (Author), Lori Weinrott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2004

More than ever, Jewish parents are looking for imaginative ways to blend traditional and personal values into their child’s bar or bat mitzvah, creating a stirring ceremony and a truly joyous party. Now, this refreshingly contemporary guide shows them how.

A bar or bat mitzvah can be a magnificent occasion, but all too often parents are baffled about how to make their celebration meaningful, beautiful, and fun--all at the same time. In The Ultimate Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration Book, Jewish food and culture writer Jayne Cohen and event planner Lori Weinrott explain how parents can create a celebration that truly reflects their traditions and their child's personality. Cohen and Weinrott use their expertise to demystify every aspect of planning the big day--from synagogue facilities, Torah portions, and the timing of the ceremony to working with a tutor and special "mitzvah projects." For the festivities that follow, they make the traditions come alive, with details on everything from a do-it-yourself "Coat of Many Colors" party to a dinner dance inspired by Exodus. Essential information includes:

•Tips on tasteful motifs and how to carry them throughout a celebration
•Expert advice on menu planning and hiring a caterer
•Ideas for dazzling decorations and breathtaking seasonal flowers
•A fresh look at candlelighting and other customs
•Kid-pleasing entertainment that fits the spirit of the occasion
•Scrumptious recipes, sample timelines,and budget guidelines

Filled with stories that showcase the wide world of bar and bat mitzvah possibilities, this inspiring book is an essential guide for families beginning the bar/bat mitzvah journey.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Cohen and Weinrott's book offers a history of the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony...plus ideas for feasting with family afterward. -- The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 21, 2004

Food writer Cohen and Weinrott, a kosher caterer in Philadelphia...provide a wealth of practical advice on planning the event. -- Library Journal, July 2004

It takes a cookbook author and event planner to team up and put together an excellent collection such as this. -- JewishMediaReview, May 10, 2004

From the Inside Flap

More than ever, Jewish parents are looking for imaginative ways to blend traditional and personal values into their child's bar or bat mitzvah, creating a stirring ceremony and a truly joyous party. Now, this refreshingly contemporary guide shows them how.

A bar or bat mitzvah can be a magnificent occasion, but all too often parents are baffled about how to make their celebration meaningful, beautiful, and fun--all at the same time. In The Ultimate Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration Book, Jewish food and culture writer Jayne Cohen and event planner Lori Weinrott explain how parents can create a celebration that truly reflects their traditions and their child's personality. Cohen and Weinrott use their expertise to demystify every aspect of planning the big day--from synagogue facilities, Torah portions, and the timing of the ceremony to working with a tutor and special "mitzvah projects." For the festivities that follow, they make the traditions come alive, with details on everything from a do-it-yourself "Coat of Many Colors" party to a dinner dance inspired by Exodus. Essential information includes:

•Tips on tasteful motifs and how to carry them throughout a celebration
•Expert advice on menu planning and hiring a caterer
•Ideas for dazzling decorations and breathtaking seasonal flowers
•A fresh look at candlelighting and other customs
•Kid-pleasing entertainment that fits the spirit of the occasion
•Scrumptious recipes, sample timelines,and budget guidelines

Filled with stories that showcase the wide world of bar and bat mitzvah possibilities, this inspiring book is an essential guide for families beginning the bar/bat mitzvah journey.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (March 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 060980992X
• ISBN-13: 978-0609809921
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.7 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #799,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jayne Cohen is the author of one previous book on Jewish cooking and celebrations -- The Gefilte Variations -- and is the co-author of The Ultimate Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration Book. "Jewish Holiday Cooking" was named a 2009 James Beard finalist in the International Books category.

Jayne writes frequently about food for publications such as Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Epicurious.com, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Jewish Woman, and Newsday, and writes the food column, Essen Around, for Centropa.org, a website devoted to European Jewish heritage. A native New Yorker, she lives in Greenwich Village with her husband, and their daughter Alexandra returns home to cook at every holiday.

How did someone, who, like many of her contemporaries, rejected her traditional Jewish background as a teenager, then become so involved not only in preserving the culinary roots of Jewish cooking and its links to the past, but also in making it vital and exciting for today's palates? That story, a very personal journey, the autobiography of one palate, is "Jewish Holiday Cooking."

In Jayne's words: "Here are all the culinary influences that nourished me and resonate within me, written in my culinary mother tongue: Jewish. Cuisine connects us to our past - and Jewish cuisine is above all a bubbe cuisine, a grandmother cuisine. My grandparents and parents are all gone now, but I continue to create new Jewish food memories for my daughter."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Bar Mitzvah Guide I've Seen, May 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ultimate Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration Book: A Guide to Inspiring Ceremonies and Joyous Festivities (Paperback)

My parents were kind enough to send me this wonderful book on Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations! I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate the book -- in particular, it's ability to retain a focus on what the event is all about. My husband and I have always believed that this is an event that comes with its own theme and we've been working very hard on planning a day that celebrates our daughter and her accomplishments, and that feels grounded in Judaism. My copy of the book is already tabbed on many pages with ideas that will help us to do just that.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly useful guide to an "authentic" celebration, May 3, 2004

By 

Sam (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration Book: A Guide to Inspiring Ceremonies and Joyous Festivities (Paperback)

We're an interfaith couple with children now 9 and 11 so we have two bar mitzvah's coming up. We've been to many bar/bat mitzvahs we've found uninspiring from a spiritual perspective, although certainly not lacking in glitz and expense.
This "guide" brings a refreshingly thoughtful and inspiring approach to creating a truly authentic celebration for one's family and friends.
It has helped us focus on what's important and reduced the anxiety level around the planning tremendously. Visit the website: http://ultimatebarbatmitzvah.com/

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank You!, April 20, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ultimate Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration Book: A Guide to Inspiring Ceremonies and Joyous Festivities (Paperback)

Thank you for demystifying the whole bar/bat mitzvah thing. I converted to Judism when I married and raised our children in the Jewish faith. I am now planning my very first bar mitzvah celebration. Your book has been a God send for me. I no longer feel pressured or confused. The book offers loads of useful information about the process, the history and true meaning of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah.

I bought multiple copies for my mother, siblings and friends. I feel confident and joyful that after reading your book our quests and family can celebrate with deeper understanding and share completely in our son's becoming a Bar Mitzvah!