Photo: beansoup_67 / Creative Commons

The back story behind our choices:

We understand “bat mitzvah” in both technical and developmental terms. Technically it is defined by a change in Jewish legal status that occurs without fanfare and with no ritual requirement when a girl turns 12 and a day. By that measure Sophia has been a bat mitzvah since March 2012.  Developmentally, we understand “bat mitzvah” to signal the beginning of a process, a “becoming,” that takes place over many years and that Sophia has just begun.

We want to frame the process of “becoming” in the context of the many communities we feel connected to and in the context of the variety of ways we, as a family, express our Jewishing.  To that end we’ve worked to find a way to include study, prayer, social action and celebration in a way that feels integrated into “normal life” for all of us as participants.  So, for example, at our synagogue, we wanted to find a way to balance what is special about Sophia’s involvement on a particular Shabbat with what regularly happens on Shabbat in that setting.  We want to do this with the people who are normally part of that community and for whom those Shabbat services are meaningful.  At the same time we want to create opportunities to enact our commitment to social action and social justice issues with people who share our values and who would find it personally meaningful to come together to “do something” (TBD) that Sophia has helped plan.  We also want to deepen our connection to Israel and celebrate with our family and friends who live there.

For an overview of the plans, click here.