Stories of Bat Mitzvah Around the World

This article was submitted by Leigh Blander of the JCC.

For thousands of Jewish girls each year, the Bat Mitzvah is a wonderful rite of passage and symbolic entry into womanhood. The ceremony is celebrated around the globe in dramatically different ways. 

The JCC’s Jewish Book Month series is proud to present a special program for pre- and post-Bat Mitzvah girls, their mothers and other special women in their lives.

On Sunday, Dec. 18, renowned Jewish authors Barbara Vinick and Shulamit Reinharz will speak about their new book, Today I am A Woman, Stories of Bat Mitzvah Around the World, which looks at 100 Bat Mitzvahs in nearly 80 countries.

An art instructor will also lead the group in decoupaging recipe boxes, which the girls can take home as family heirlooms.

Today I am a Woman is meant to inspire, says Vinick.

“Through these stories, I hope that young Jewish women will appreciate the diversity of Jewish life around the world – in communities that, sadly, have disappeared as well as those that are just emerging or re-emerging and are growing,” she said.

Among the stories in the book - the first Bat Mitzvah at the only synagogue in Indonesia, a Bat Mitzvah memory from World War II Italy and an American Bat Mitzvah shared with girls in a Ukrainian orphanage.

The authors say since their book hit the shelves, they’ve heard emotional stories from women.

“Some people have told me that they have not had a Bat Mitzvah and this book motivated them to consider doing it, or re-doing it,” said Reinharz.

Reinharz is a leading scholar of Jewish Women’s studies at Brandeis University. She’s authored more than a dozen books.

Vinick, who lives in Swampscott, is a sociologist and author.

Save your spot now for this wonderful event on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2 to 4:30pm at the JCC, 4 Community Road, Marblehead.

Tickets are $10 per person, or $18 for two.  Call 781-631-8330 today.

This project is made possible, in part, by the Jewish Women’s Endowment Fund. It is co-sponsored by the JCCNS, Cohen Hillel Academy, North Shore Teen Initiative and the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation.