Temple Beth Torah - Upper Nyack, NY

Continuous, regular attendance in Temple Beth Torah Religious School.
- You must attend SAJE for three consecutive years leading up to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony. At the discretion of clergy, credit may be given for previous study at a different religious school.
- You must meet the SAJE attendance requirements. You can look at the SAJE manual here.
Attendance by parents and students at a required multi-session Family Education Program during sixth grade.
- The program stresses Jewish values, family involvement, and the role of Bar/Bat Mitzvah in the ongoing Jewish education process. Each family will receive guides to the parashah (Torah portion) the children will be reading. They will be asked to summarize the portion, answer questions, and help choose the verses the child will read. The family will discover how to make the performing of mitzvot an ongoing part of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah process.
Regular attendance at Shabbat evening and morning services at Temple Beth Torah by the student and family.
- B’nei Mitzvah candidates are expected to attend a minimum 12 services at Temple Beth Torah including 4 B’nei Mitzvah.
- About ten months prior to the ceremony, students receive 12 service attendance cards which they are to turn in to the Cantor following each service attended at Temple Beth Torah. (Note that these are not the same as the cards for religious school attendance.)
- Only students who fulfill the service attendance requirements by one month before their ceremony date will have the privilege of leading their service. Students who fall short of 12 services read Torah and Haftarah but do not lead the prayer service.
- To help maintain decorum and assure that these services provide appropriate worship as well as learning experiences for the family, it is expected that the entire family attend and sit together.
Beginning about 5 months before the ceremony (7, if there is an intervening summer), regular weekly meetings with Cantor Neff to review Torah, Haftarah and prayers. Most meetings will be 20 minutes in duration.
Daily practice/study of the Cantor’s weekly assignments. (20 minutes per day is recommended.)
- Research shows that small, but frequent practice sessions are far more helpful in the building of long-term memory than long, infrequent ones. Please encourage your child to make their B’nei Mitzvah preparations as much of a daily habit as tooth brushing.
Completion of Eilu Devarim mitzvah program and preparation of a D’var Torah highlighting several of the mitzvot performed and (where possible) relating those mitzvot to the Torah and /or Haftarah portion.
Family viewing of the “rehearsal DVD” provided.
Attendance at a rehearsal with Hilary Schwartz about 10 days prior to the ceremony. The rehearsal must be coordinated if two families are involved. All preparations for the ceremony must be completed by the rehearsal including reading or chanting from the unvoweled Torah.
Usher for another bar or bat mitzvah service at a Shabbat morning service prior to your simcha. The Religious Practices Committee coordinates usher assignments.
Review of the bar or bat mitzvah individual’s solo (if one is chosen) with the organist a half hour before Friday service time one week before the ceremony and again 45 minutes before the Friday nightservice the week of the ceremony.
Timely payment of all Temple fees and charges. Please note that the bar/bat mitzvah preparation process may not proceed unless your family remains in good standing. The bar or bat mitzvah fee is billed during the 6^th Grade.