Judaism Unbound Episode 382: What Should B Mitzvah Be? - Dan and Lex
B Mitzvah (a gender-neutral term for Jewish coming-of-age rituals, often but not exclusively associated with the age of 12-to-13) is an incredibly popular Jewish observance. Even in a landscape where many Jews do not spend much time in Jewish institutional contexts, they often carve out space for their family members to experience B Mitzvah. In this conversation, Dan and Lex explore what they believe B Mitzvah could be in the future, and how it could work in tandem with an expanded notion of Jewish rites of passage, across a wider variety of life-stages.
[1] This episode is the 7th in an ongoing mini-series of Judaism Unbound episodes, honoring Bat Mitzvah's 100th anniversary, and exploring the present and future of B Mitzvah. For the previous episodes in the series, see any of the following:
[2] Judaism Unbound’s UnYeshiva (our digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning) just launched the first-ever cohort in our certificate program for Unbound Judaism. Meet the amazing students enrolled in this program by heading to JudaismUnbound.com/certificate!
[3] Toward the end of the episode, there’s a brief discussion of confirmation. To explore the history of that coming-of-age ritual, in Jewish contexts, see Laura Yares’s 2022 presentation as part of ShavuotLIVE and/or Catherine Horowitz’s 2023 presentation as part of ShavuotLIVE. Also, stay tuned for an upcoming episode on this topic!
[4] Lex references a ritual from Camp Interlaken JCC, called KTO (K’far Takes Over), where 10th graders get a taste of the experience of being a camp staff-member. Learn more about K’far Takes Over via this article in the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle.
[5] Learn more about consecration, a ritual for the beginning of one’s Sunday-school/Hebrew-school experience that came up in this podcast episode, via this link.
[6] Check out the interaction mentioned in this episode, where Howard Stern and Adam Sandler chant the Torah blessing together, via this link.
