B’nei Mitzvah Initiative

Posted/updated: January 26, 2009

By Cantor Angela Warnick Buchdah

In light of recent events, I suspect that many of us have been examining what is most important to us, what we most value, and what is expendable. Central Synagogue has been engaged in a similar process of reflection as an institution, examining our budget, clarifying our priorities and trying to set an example of what a religious community can be for people in a time of need.  Sometimes even painful periods can bring forth good, and it would be a shame to waste a good crisis.

It is in this spirit that Central Synagogue has embarked on a B’nei Mitzvah House Meeting Initiative—a series of small-group conversations with families in our community to challenge some of the assumptions and expectations around the culture of B’nei Mitzvah in our community.  Between Jan 16, when we started the initiative, and March 14, when we end, we hope to talk to at least two hundred families with children in the fourth through seventh grades, to hear their stories, and to ensure that we make this important life cycle reflect the best of our Jewish values. 

The B’nei Mitzvah House Meeting Initiative evolved from Central Synagogue’s Listening Campaign, which we kicked-off over a year ago.  The challenge of raising “kids who care” in a society of privilege and abundance emerged as a core concern for many in our community.  Once the listening phase was over, the Listening Campaign became “Central Action,” and the “Kids Who Care” group decided to focus on how the Bar Mitzvah could be used to convey our values.  The current financial crisis offers a special opportunity for this project to have major impact.

What would it be like if our B’nei Mitzvah class joined together and donated a portion of their gifts to a tzedakah collective that helped resuscitate one of the Jewish philanthropies devastated by the Madoff financial scheme?  What if the class decided to use Evites instead of printed invitations to save some trees and to draw from the financial savings to plant 1000 trees in Central Park?  As we engage our parents and students in this challenge, who knows what they might think of?

Too often the stories we read in The New York Times about New York Bar Mitzvah celebrations embarrass us and fail to reflect the true values of the Jewish community.  With the proper effort, the next article written about New York City B’nei Mitzvah could instead describe how Central Synagogue emerged from this financial crisis to create a new paradigm of mitzvah in B’nei Mitzvah.

We welcome your participation in this important project.  If you would like to attend a House Meeting as part of our B’nei Mitzvah Initiative, please contact Sabrina Ferrer at 212-838-5122, ext. 1012, or at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

May we move forward in strength.