A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

Is ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ the first good bar/bat mitzvah movie?

Is ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ the first good bar/bat mitzvah movie?

ANDREW LAPIN, JTAPublished June 16, 2022

(JTA) – It seems hard to believe, but there’s never been a truly great bar/bat mitzvah movie — mostly because there just haven’t been that many bar/bat mitzvah movies, period. Yes, there have been plenty of one-off TV episodes centered around...

The first bat mitzvah was 100 years ago. Opened doors for Jewish women ever since

The first bat mitzvah was 100 years ago. Opened doors for Jewish women ever since

Lisa Fishbayn Joffe, Brandeis UniversityPublished March 15, 2022

March 18, 2022, marks the 100th anniversary of the first bat mitzvah ceremony in the United States. Judith Kaplan, daughter of the influential rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, became the first woman to publicly celebrate the traditional Jewish coming-of-age...

Header image by Grace Yagel/70 Faces Media

How to host a backyard bar or bat mitzvah

HOLLY LEBOWITZ ROSSI, Kveller.comPublished June 23, 2021

If your family is planning a backyard bar or bat mitzvah, Dorothy’s famous words at the end of “The Wizard of Oz” might be on your mind: “If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire… I won’t look any further than my own backyard.” True,...

UH Zoom Adult Bnai Mitzvot

Adult b’nai mitzvah Zoom to treasured milestone

By Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished December 17, 2020

Judy Berger lost her husband, Leslie, on New Year’s Eve 2019, but he was very much on her mind during the second day of Hanukkah last Saturday. That’s when Berger, 73, achieved a milestone: her bat mitzvah.“He was never bar mitzvahed, and I thought,...

Amy Fenster Brown with her son, Leo, at his bar mitzvah earlier this month. 

More ‘mitzvah,’ less ‘bar’: A lesson in silver linings

By Amy Fenster BrownPublished August 27, 2020

Raise your hand if you’re tired of the phrase “the new normal.” Keep your hand up if you realize you’re actually adapting to the new normal, even though the term annoys you. I see lots of hands.  The world has changed plans with regard to work,...

Henry Rosenblum is flanked by his grandfather, Doron Berger (left), and his father, Steven Rosenblum at the Garden Shul Synagogue in Cape Town, South Africa.  

Mitzvot from the Heart: Henry Rosenblum

Mitzvot from the Heart is compiled by Elise KrugPublished July 31, 2020

Henry Rosenblum followed what is now a family tradition: a bar mitzvah abroad. Henry’s eldest brother, Myles, became a bar mitzvah in Jerusalem, joined by extended family on both sides. Then Spencer, the middle son, traveled with his family to Budapest,...

Best of Simchas

Best of Simchas Readers Poll

Published January 2, 2020

We asked readers to cast their vote for St. Louis’ top businesses that help to make bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings and other celebrations occasions to remember for a lifetime. More than 700 people voted in the poll and on the following pages, find the...

Kate Barbarash

Mitzvot from the Heart: Kate Barbarash

Mitzvot from the Heart is compiled by Elise Krug, Editorial and Development AssociatePublished November 9, 2018

Kate Barbarash | United Hebrew CongregationAs hard as it was studying Hebrew for her bat mitzvah and as nerve racking as it was standing on the bimah in front of more than 100 people, Kate said it was all worth it. That’s because it brought her to the...

Simcha Lourie

Having a party? Make it a PARTY!

BY MARGI LENGA KAHN, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished March 23, 2018

There are parties, and then there are PARTIES. Most of us have hosted a party. For example, you may have had family or friends over for a backyard barbecue. Or you may have hosted your child’s birthday party in your basement. Or you may have even invited...

Temple Israel hosting bar/bat mitzvah cotillion program

Published December 29, 2016

Temple Israel is hosting its annual bar/bat mitzvah cotillion program for St. Louis area sixth-grade students, which aims to educate both Jewish and non-Jewish teens in a fun and exciting way about the traditions, etiquette, dance moves, music and social...

Rabbi Hyim Shafner of Bais Abraham works with students  taking part in a yearlong bar/bat mitzvah program for Israeli families in St. Louis. Photos courtesy Bais Abraham

Bar/bat mitzvah initiative aims to engage Israeli families here

By Hannah Snidman, Staff writerPublished June 22, 2016

After forming a Hebrew school specifically for secular Israelis, Bais Abraham recently created a yearlong bar and bat mitzvah program for Israeli families living in the St. Louis area.In Israel, many Jewish teenagers host parties for bar and bat mitzvahs...

It’s time to raise the bar on the bar/bat mitzvah

By Rabbi Joel E. Hoffman, Special to the Jewish LightPublished May 26, 2016

I have always wondered why bar/bat mitzvah lessons consists of learning trope, how to chant a section of the Torah and Haftarah, and how to lead parts of the service, especially because we know that 99 percent will never again read from the Torah or Haftarah...

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