Sha’arei Mitzvah
During the year before Bar/Bat Mitzvah, PSJC’s Sha’arei Mitzvah (“Gates of Mitzvah”) program prepares B’nai Mitzvah students and their families for the commitments of Jewish life that the student will be accepting as a Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
Our Sha’arei Mitzvah program runs in teh Winter and Spring of the year prior to Bar or Bat Mitzvah. The program emphasizes hands-on learning and focuses on three key themes:
- Torah (learning and instruction)
- Avodah (worship)
- G’milut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness)
The Sha’arei Mitzvah program incorporates approximately five group sessions, a personal mitzvah project and a shul buddy/mentor who acts a guide through Shabbat morning services.
The five sessions include topics such as:
- Diversity of movements in Judaism
- Jewish identity and reaching the age of Mitzvot
- Writing and delivering Divrei Torah
- The Choreography of the Shabbat Service
- G’milut Chasadim and Jewish communal activism
PSJC designed the Sha’arei Mitzvah program as a way for students and their families to develop connections and meaningful friendships within the PSJC community as they embark on this exciting time in their lives.