When it comes to deciding on a b’nai mitzvah gift, endless choices abound. While some opt to give an amount of money that’s a multiple of 18 because 18 symbolizes “chai” or life in Hebrew, others may look for something less traditional but still meaningful. 

Elizabeth Bleyer, a rising junior at Maryville University, became a bat mitzvah in September 2016 at Congregation United Hebrew. After completing her bat mitzvah service, she received a glass box with a “mini-Torah scroll” that opened to the Torah portion she chanted. 

“It was so cool to see the portion but small in that little glass box,” Bleyer said. “I’ll always remember that’s what I said. [It] was very sentimental and emotional.”

Bleyer’s father, Craig, also received an emotional gift following his 1980 bar mitzvah at Beth Am Temple in Pearl River, N.Y. Looking back, his most memorable bar mitzvah gift was not a physical item but an experience.

“[My grandparents] took me to England [the] next summer,” Craig Bleyer said. “We were all very into British things so going there together was really special.”

More than four decades later, he reminisces on time spent abroad with his family.  

“Anytime I look at the pictures [of the trip] or see [photos of] my grandparents, I think about that experience,” he said.  “I really hold on to that.”

Sanford House, also a member of United Hebrew, received a similar bar mitzvah gift in January 1987. After his celebration, House opened a poem revealing a gift he would cherish for many years. 

“My dad found this tour; it was get on the bus, get off the bus,” House said. “It was supposed to be 13 countries in 10 days, and it was pretty memorable.”

In recent years, trips have remained a popular gift for many b’nai mitzvah celebrants. 

Sam Sigel, a rising eighth-grader at Ladue Middle School, also received a bar mitzvah gift in the form of a trip. Not long after his service last September at Congregation Shaare Emeth, Sigel flew to the East Coast with his maternal grandparents to celebrate the milestone. 

“I went on a trip to New York, [and] it was fun,” Sigel said. “We went to see two plays… ‘& Juliet’ and ‘The Lion King.’”

While Sigel enjoyed spending time in the Big Apple with family, he also acknowledged the significance of a Star of David necklace gifted to him by his paternal grandmother. 

“I can wear it every day, and it shows how I’m proud to be Jewish,” Sigel said. 

Sigel was not the only recent b’nai mitzvah to receive a memorable piece of jewelry. Abby House, daughter of Sanford and a rising eighth-grader at Parkway Central Middle School, became a bat mitzvah at United Hebrew in February. The most memorable bat mitzvah gift she received was a Star of David necklace given to her by her older brother. 

“It was probably my most memorable gift because… I eventually will give [it] to my kids, and [it] will be cherished forever,” Abby House said. 

Like Sigel and Abby House, Lauren Ormont, a rising sophomore at the University of Missouri, received a piece of jewelry from a family member. After becoming a bat mitzvah in December 2017 at United Hebrew, Ormont’s aunt gave her a necklace with sentimental value. 

“Growing up, my grandma on my dad’s side suffered from a stroke, and she ended up passing away,” Ormont said. “The necklace [my aunt] gave me was my grandma’s jewelry.”

Years after her bat mitzvah, Ormont wears the necklace on special occasions to remember her late grandmother. 

“I feel like I have a piece of her with me, which is something that I really cherish,” she said.