Bar & Bat Mitzvah
A year of learning with the Rabbi or Rebbetzin, built around your child — their portion, their questions, their mitzvah project — and a celebration that fits your family, at the Chabad House or anywhere you like.
A bar or bat mitzvah isn't a performance — it's the day a Jewish child becomes responsible for their own Jewish life. We prepare children for that, not only for the reading. No membership is needed, and no family is too unaffiliated or too late to start.
How we prepare together
- 1
A first meeting
You, your child and the Rabbi or Rebbetzin, over coffee. We talk about your family and what matters to you.
- 2
Weekly lessons
One hour a week, here or on video: reading, the blessings, tefillin for boys, and the meaning behind them.
- 3
A mitzvah project
Your child picks a cause and does something real for it — we help them find one.
- 4
The day
An aliyah at a Shabbat or weekday service, a speech they wrote themselves, and a kiddush or party your way.
Planning ahead
Start about a year before the date.
Not sure of your child's Hebrew birthday or their Torah portion? Send us their birth date and we'll work it out for you.
Bar and Bat Mitzvah questions
Do we need to be members?
No. There's no membership here. Lessons have a fee we'll discuss at the first meeting, and we never let it stand in the way.
My child is already 13. Is it too late?
No. Many children — and plenty of adults — celebrate later. It's never too late.
Can the celebration be somewhere else?
Yes. The ceremony can be at the Chabad House, at home, at a hotel or even in Israel. We'll come to you.
Thinking about a date?
Call the Rabbi or send a note — the first meeting is just coffee.
More programs
Other ways to be part of the community.
- Shabbat dinnersEvery Friday night, after a short service, we sit down to kiddush, fresh challah and a three-course home-cooked dinner. Forty people on a quiet week, a hundred on a holiday — and always a seat for one more.
- Jewish holidaysFrom the shofar on Rosh Hashanah to the last matzah ball of Passover, every holiday of the year happens here — services, meals, and something for the kids. You bring yourself; we'll bring the rest.
- Torah classes & Lunch and LearnA Tuesday evening class on the week's Torah portion, a Thursday Lunch and Learn downtown, and one-on-one study whenever you want it. No background needed — bring a question and leave with something to think about.