Book Description
The Music May Have Stopped, but the Party’s Never Over.
Bar Mitzvah Disco. Everyone's Invited
Pick up your table card and come be our guest on this journey back to a time when style, music, and lust went hand in hand with a Day-Glo necklace, a pair of Z Cavaricci jeans, and Vuarnet shades. In this parallel universe, tall girls slow-danced with short boys at arm’s length, suburban break-dance pioneers vied with Lionel Richie fanatics for dance-floor space, Aunt Edna came ready to mount an assault on the dessert buffet in her best lime-green polyester pantsuit, and the phrase “the higher the hair, the closer to God” took on a whole new meaning.
With special appearances from:
AJ Jacobs, 99 red balloons, Ben Lee, the California Raisins, a well-intentioned Burt Reynolds impersonator, Jessi Klein, Joel Stein, DJ Squeak E. Clean, members of Foreigner (circa the Agent Provocateur tour), Sarah Silverman, OJ Simpson, Noah Tepperberg, Wendy Spero, the cast of Breakin’, Mark Ronson, Steve Fortgang and southern Florida’s number one Bar Mitzvah band
Bar Mitzvah Disco is an irresistible journey, two parts Fantasy Island to one part Vegas, rife with gorgeous girls, piles of cash, and ungracious thank-you notes presented straight from the source.
Customer Reviews:
EVERYBODY WANG CHUNG TONIGHT.......2007-07-01
This book is so much fun. Beyond the great photos that are too campy to be believed, this book is jammed with the reflections of others on their mitzvah experiences. No poignancy here, just a lot of laughs.
fantastic.......2007-01-30
This book is awesome - it perfectly captures this bizarre subculture of over-the-top celebrations of puberty among Jews in the 1980s, primarily in the New York metro area. If you are one of the chosen people that celebrated Bar and Bat Mitzvahs during that time, you will laugh until it hurts reading this book.
Kitch at its best.......2007-01-10
Loved the Disco Bar Mitzvah. Great collection of antecdotes and fantastic photographs. Oh Vey, to be 13 again - NO WAY.
Highly recommend this book.
Oh my god, I know them!!!!.......2006-12-18
I just received this book for the holidays. I was going to bar/bat mitvahs in the early eighties and throughly enjoyed this book. Then came the photo. I graduated junior high with the entire table!!!
There are no words to describe how happy I am with this book, except to say that reading it was pure enjoyment.
Disco Review.......2006-02-24
Cool book. I took it to work to show all my gentile co-workers and they loved it.
Book Description
Over 80,000 Jewish adults suffer unnecessary stress and anguish each year. Why? They are planning their 40,000 Jewish children's Bar/Bat Mitzvah parties. Part of the planning includes the all-important Candle Lighting Ceremony. It is this ceremony that is a major source of tremendous stress - creating the poems to be recited by the Bar/Bat Mitzvah child while calling honored guests up to light candles.
Of course, many books have been written about the Bar Mitzvah, from service to celebration. Some even refer to the Candle Lighting Ceremony, but none include poems for the child to recite. This is the first book published with already written, ready to use poems. Included are poems for:
memorial, welcome, grandparents, aunts and uncles, generic family, gentile relatives, absent guests, family friends, child's friends, siblings, parents, parent to child and good luck candles. Written in a humorous tone, "This one's for you" literally walks parents through the entire Candle Lighting Ceremony from "Who to do we ask?" to "The Big Blow Out." It covers every nerve-wracking detail of the entire ceremony. It even has printed worksheets to make the whole selection/preparation process easy.
Customer Reviews:
So unexpectedly helpful!.......2006-08-11
I was given a quote of $350 to have my son's candle lighting ceremony written for us. We were blown away!! Such a lot of money. So we heard about this book and took a chance hoping it would help us. WE LOVED IT!. It was perfect for us. Together we sat down with our son and in one evening created the perfect ceremony. Thank you Author. We will recommend it to our friends that are also doing the Bar Mitzvah circut now.
Worth every penny.......2006-03-22
This book helped make our candle lighting ceremony memorable. I wanted to write my own personalized poems for each special person who we wanted to light a candle and this book was the answer. Using the guidance provided by the book, I was able to write very special poems. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to write their own candlelighting poems!!!!!!!!!!!!
Came Just in Time.......2006-01-25
This is a great book that helped my daughter and wife to prepare for the candle lighting ceremony at my daughter's Bat Mitzvah. We receive the book in just 2 days and overnight they wrote the whole ceremony. We were very impressed.
Bar Mitzvah poems for the poetically challenged.......2005-08-20
I was a little shocked by the price, especially given that the book is more of a bound "booklet". However, for the poetically challenged and stressed out mom of a Bar Mitzvah to be, I was able to easily create the poems with some help and input from my son. So, my conclusion ... it was money well spent.
GREAT HELP FOR US.......2005-07-12
This book really helped make it easier for us to write our son's candle lighting ceremony. The poems were wonderfully funny and sentimental. Everyone loved them! Being our first Bar Mitzvah, the author's directions made it very easy for us to understand the whole procedure.
We would recommend this book to anyone having a Bar/Bat Mitzvah and concerned over creating the candle lighting cereomy.
WE LOVED IT and gave it to our friends who are having an affair soon.
Book Description
An indispensable, modern-day guide to planning the perfect bar or bat mitzvah, celebrating substance and style
There used to be only two approaches to the bar or bat mitzvah party -- a low-key event that reflects the solemnity of this sacred rite of passage or a big bash that has no connection to the religious service. For many, it was an impossible dilemma. Will a big bash trivialize and overshadow the bar or bat mitzvah experience? Will too much spirituality suck the life out of an otherwise fabulous party?
MitzvahChic is the first book that proves that if you want a truly amazing experience, you can and must have it all! Blending meaningful Jewish elements with high-style contemporary party planning, this inspiring and useful guide will show you how to have the ultimate bar or bat mitzvah -- a profoundly moving service followed by an unforgettable party. The MitzvahChic approach also shows how to honor your child in a big way, rather than reducing him or her to an overused pop culture theme or a single cliché: He's into baseball! She loves horses!
This must-have guide gives advice on the major decisions, the basics of the service, and the party details that really matter. It also features:
- A complete guide to the Torah, including dates and summaries of the portions and supplementary materials
- Eight complete, themed parties, including party favors, decorations, and photographs of sample tables
- A time line to help plan the bar or bat mitzvah up to two years ahead
- Instructions for being MitzvahChic on a budget
- Advice on how to include non-Jewish friends and family members in the ceremony
A practical guide to all things mitzvah from the Torah to the tablecloth, MitzvahChic will help create a beautiful, powerful, resonant, and unforgettable rite of passage.
Customer Reviews:
can get all this info on their website for free.......2007-10-08
I was disappointed with this book. The author makes a lot of suggestions but does not give concrete information for most of them. The section on decorating for a party was ridiculous. She tells you how she had three parties for her son for the price of one big party...to me it sounded like she spent as much on each party as I want to spend on just one party for my daughter. She seems a bit out of touch with reality. One thing that was unique and interesting about this book is that she describes the torah readings and gives you the dates that they will be read each year. With this information, you can try to schedule your child's bar or bat mitzvah around a torah portion that you find interesting. That is the main reason I gave this book 3 stars instead of 2. Save your money tho, all of this info can be had for free at [...]
Getting back to the Ritual.......2007-09-22
This was a great book. I don't feel so pressured now to have to put on such an elaborate show. We will make the Oneg a bit nicer than a typical oneg and have a Simcha Quilt(instead of candlelighting) during the oneg. Kids party at grandma's house with fun activities just for the Bar Mitzvah boy and his friends.
Spiritual Meaning to your Mitzvah.......2007-03-22
I loved this book!! As I started to plan this Bar Mitzvah I knew that I needed some guidance. I never imagined I would find so much perfect information in one book. The ideas on combining a truly a spiritual occasion with a terrific party were perfect. The way the ideas are presented makes so much sense. You'll love the easy to follow guidelines and suggestions. I can't tell you how many of the ideas actually made me get a lump in my throat! The book gives you a sense of confidence that even if you have never planned a party before - you can do this and really do it with meaning and fun. A must read!
Absolutely essential!.......2007-03-13
I'm so sorry that another reviewer didn't find this book helpful, because to me it was essential. It was the first B'nai Mitzvah book I bought and I was so glad I did. It opened my eyes to a lot of options that I wasn't aware of, and will, in the end, make our Bat Mitzvah so much more meaningful. I was unaware that you could select your mitzvah date based on Torah parsha. When I was younger, you were just given a date close to your birthday. The author of this book categorizes and explains each Torah portion for you. After reading them, I handed the book over to my daughter and said, "Find something that is meaningful to you." She read each section and picked one that she connected most with. We let her select her Bat Mitzvah date, and as a result, she is more aware and involved than most kids are at this point, and we are still at the very beginning of planning. She intends to carry the theme of her parsha into her mitzvah project, her D'var Torah, and her party. Did you know that you could twin with a child of the holocaust and honor him/her at your child's B'nai Mitzvah? Did you know that you could support a Jewish family in Ethiopia for one month, just by buying a tallit bag that they embroider? This is the kind of thing that is detailed in this book. Be forewarned: although this book does touch (briefly) on day vs. night affairs and selecting a venue, this is not a "how to make a hockey stick entrance way for my kid's hockey-theme Bar Mitzvah" book. MitzvahChic transcends that and looks deeper into the messages of the ceremony and how it fits in with your child's jewish coming-of-age. It then takes those messages and ultimately carries them through to themes and centerpieces, etc. for the party. Our copy of MitzvahChic has been lovingly highlighted, dog-eared and is always close at hand. I am so glad I found this valuable resource and feel that although we still have some time to go, that this book has already elevated my daughter's Bat Mitzvah into something very special.
Indispensible.......2007-02-20
I've been a committed and identified Jew all my life, and have raised my children joyfully in the tradition. Yet MitzvahChic taught me things I had never known -- about the ceremony itself and about our heritage. Even for people who are not planning a bar or bat mitzvah, this is a wonderful resource. Compact synopses of the Torah portions, suggestions for all kinds of mitzvot you can do, and even a section helping the non-Jewish family members feel welcome and up the learning curve. In fact, that last section has been a good one for many of my Jewish friends who didn't know much about Judaism's history or practices. This is a gem!
Book Description
The kids' companion to the award-winning Putting God on the Guest List: How to Claim the Spiritual Meaning of Your Child's Bar or Bat Mitzvah -- Used as an inspiring part of bar/bat mitzvah preparation for parents in hundreds of congregations around the world.
Jewish youngsters and their parents need to turn inward at bar and bat mitzvah time and ask themselves these hard questions: "Why are we doing this? What does it all mean?"
At last, a guide especially for kids, to help them spiritually prepare for their bar/bat mitzvah. Explains the core spiritual values of Judaism to young people in a language they can understand. Questions at the end of each chapter engage kids and let them offer their own thoughts. A special section helps parents and kids find places to perform acts of tzedakah to honor the event.
Customer Reviews:
Emphasizes the spiritual meaning of Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.......2001-09-03
In the frenzy of preparing for the big day, it can be easy to lose the focus and meaning of a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Many kids may wonder "What is this really all about? Why am I doing this?" This inspiring, clearly-written book urges kids to think about the deeper meaning of the ceremony and of being a Jew. The emphasis is on spirituality and being mindful of God's presence everyday. I especially liked the section with suggestions and resources for acts of tzedakah as well as little mitzvahs.
Great companion book for Kids.......2000-03-29
This version of Putting God on the Guest List is the perfect companion to the adult version. We liked it so much that we started a fund at our synagogue so that every child beginning the bar or bat mitzvah process receives a copy. In an era where the party has become more important than the ritual, this book help focus a child on the religious importance of his coming of age. A wonderful read.
Customer Reviews:
Humorous and Informative.......2001-03-06
This book has loads of information and is very easy to read. The author uses humor to emphasize pertinent information. You will enjoy reading the entire book, even the sections that don't pertain to the Bar Mitzvah you are planning. Well worth the time to read.
Book Description
TODAY, I AM A DEAD MAN
For suburban sleuth Christine Bennett, the chance to visit the Holy Land is a dream come true. Her best friend Melanie Gross will be in Jerusalem at the same time for the Bar Mitzvah of her very wealthy cousin. Although he’s long past the customary age of thirteen, Gabe is planning a lavish party and is flying family and friends over from the States to celebrate. Not accustomed to traveling, Christine is thrilled to have Melanie along to share the experience.
The beauty and mystery of the golden city is overwhelming, and Christine is excited about exploring every part of it—until Gabe disappears without a trace, turning her vacation tour into a trail of clues that leads to a cold and cunning killer. . . .
Customer Reviews:
Good story marred by pace, extraneous "travelogue" filler.......2005-01-20
We've been Lee Harris fans for quite a while, having read all fifteen of the prior ex-nun Christine Bennett mysteries. The series features Chris's introduction to the secular life after resigning from a nunnery after half her life at age 30. Over the course of the prior novels, she "ages" about half a year per book: she meets NYPD detective Jack (who's a handy official resource to her amateur sleuthing), becomes engaged and marries him, and has a baby, now four-year-old Eddie. The various yarns feature her solving mostly crimes from the past that never received adequate police work, allowing Chris to nose around with unlimited time and questioning until new facts appear in sufficient quantity to unravel long buried truths. The tales are clean family fare, with little or no violence, sex, swearing, or much other unpleasantness other than the crime that spawns the plot per se.
This latest entry, "Bar Mitzvah", starts off so far-fetched, that we were irritated almost from the start. A rich older man, Gabe Gross, decides he wants a proper Bar Mitzvah, and takes 40 friends and relatives to Israel to do it up right. Included is Chris's best girlfriend, Gabe's relative Melanie Gross, who naturally is excited at her impending foreign experience. Just by coincidence (gulp!) Chris's hubby, now a rising star lawyer-officer in the NYPD HQ, gets a special two-week assignment to -- guess where ?!? -- Israel, to coincide with the big celebration. When Gabe first gets sick, then rushed away in an ambulance, only to be the victim of a kidnapping/murder, our favorite busybody gets into her act and beats the apparently inept local police to every clue and every development in solving the case. Just in case there might be a shard of suspense to this fiction, the main plot is interrupted in virtually every chapter with little side trips by all concerned throughout the wonderful landscape of modern Israel and its wonderful biblical settings, visits to the wonderful shops there, meals at the wonderful restaurants there, etc. Get the drift? By the time the whole story comes out, involving a falsified last will and testament and mysterious things found in Gabe's safe back at home in America, we're so tired of the whole thing we just want it over. Only the last 25 pages or so of this plodding 250-page account had us really turning pages out of anything but loyalty.
This book smacks of something due to fulfill a contract, and as justification for author Syrell Rogovin Leahy traveling to Israel as "research" to write off her trip to the homeland of her ancestors. To us, an interesting travelogue it isn't; moreover, the now worldly Chris is getting to be a bit of a bore if you please.
We note that Harris has turned to a new character for both the previously published "Murder in Hell's Kitchen" and her upcoming novel "Murder in Alphabet City", both featuring NYPD Detective Jane Bauer. Perhaps Lee herself realizes Christine may well have run her course. Although I see (from the author's web site) that at least one more entry is due in the set, we hope she returns to form with a story that grabs and holds our attention. "Mitzvah" wasn't wretched, just disappointing compared to the rest.
Great mystery set in Jerusalem!.......2004-06-02
Christine Bennett's best friend Melanie Gross and her family are going to Jerusalem for the bar mitzvah of her wealthy cousin, Gabe. He is paying for the families to attend his bar mitzvah - he is LONG past the traditional thirteen years old!
Then Chris finds out that her husband, Jack, is being sent to Jerusalem at the same time and she and their son are joining him. Matter of fact, her in-law's agree to come too and take care of their son in a separate hotel. Chris is looking forward to sightseeing with Melanie while her husband is working.
Then Gabe goes missing. Apparently at the party the day after the bar mitzvah, Gabe took ill. An ambulance came and took him to a hospital, but no one can find out what hospital he went to. They begin to wonder if it really was an ambulance that arrived. Then he is found dead. Who would want him dead, especially in Jerusalem? Could it be one of the family members he brought with him?
Chris begins to investigate. Melanie assists her while she is still in Jerusalem. Joshua Davidson, the policeman Jack was working with, assisted Chris with some information. Plus Jack contacted some people in his precinct to assist with information from home.
Chris puts herself in some harrowing situations. Can she figure out this mystery before she goes home? Is it tied to events happening at home?
Chris is such a great character. I always enjoy reading a new book in this series. The relationship between her and Jack has really grown. I like that he helps her and encourages her in the investigations while still asking that she stay safe.
Melanie and Chris make a great team. It is nice to have Melanie help more with the investigation this time.
Once again Chris (an ex-nun) calls Sister Joseph back at the convent for advice and guidance in her investigation.
I highly recommend you read this book and the rest of the series.
A fun read!.......2004-03-21
I have just finished reading The Bar Mitzvah Murder and found it to be one of the best in the entire Christine Bennett series. The plot is lively and dynamic, yet the atmosphere is 'cozy.' The setting is refreshingly different, and the heroine is focused on adventure rather than on the particulars of her daily life as wife and mother (a bit too much of that in the other books). She is tougher and less sentimental, too. I look forward to more Christine Bennett books where she will get away from home and go to interesting places, with or without her husband, to solve her cases.
Perhaps the weakest of the series.......2004-03-06
I've read all of the Lee Harris "holiday themed" mysteries, and this one is the weakest of the lot! While an interesting vacation tale (Christine as tourist), her constant self-denial begins to wear thin. Must it be mentioned in nearly every chapter? And as a "guide" to the Holy Land, stick to travel writers who will do a better job of the historic/political aspects of this part of the world.
exciting amateur sleuth.......2004-02-21
Suburbanite Christine Bennett is delighted that her closest friends Hal and Mel Gross are going to visit Israel and their cousin is paying for it. Gabe is a wealthy fifty something year old businessman who wants to have his bar mitzvah in Jerusalem and is wealthy enough to fly his friends and family out there for the event.
Chris, a former nun, is even more excited when her husband NYPD lieutenant Jack informs her they are going to Israel too. He will work with the Jerusalem police on a database. When they arrive at their destination, Mel informs Chris that Gabe was injured and was taken away in an ambulance but they can't find him. The next day his body is found in the Arab sector of Jerusalem and since the police are not making any progress on the case, Mel asks Chris to do some detecting. She discovers that the crime was carefully planned in one country and executed in another but whom and why eludes her.
Not only has Lee Harris written another exciting amateur sleuth tale, she also has given her audience a fascinating travelogue of interesting sites and areas in Israel. In spite of the troubles in the area, readers will want to tour the Holy Land. THE BAR MITZVAH MURDER is so complex that nobody reading this book will be able to identify the person who set up the murder scenario until the author chooses to reveal it.
Harriet Klausner
Book Description
The expanded, updated, revised edition of today s most influential book (over 35,000 copies of the first edition in print) about finding core spiritual values in American Jewrys most misunderstood ceremony. Joining explanation, instruction, and inspiration to help parent and child, it offers new insights into bar and bat mitzvah s origins, new ways for non-Jewish parents to participate in their childs barmitzvah ceremony, new resources, and much more. How did bar and bat mitzvah originate? What are the ethics of celebration? How to make the event more spiritually meaningful! An important update to the winner of the 1993 Benjamin Franklin Award for the Best Religion Book published in the United States. A portion of all sales of
Putting God on the Guest List is donated by the publisher to MAZON, a Jewish Response to Hunger
Customer Reviews:
Putting God on the Guest List:: How to Reclaim the Spiritual Meaning of Your Child's Bar or Bat Mitzvah by Jeffrey K. Salkin.......2007-07-23
I found this book to be very useful.
I particularly liked the section on mitzvahs (usually translated as "good deeds" and literally "commandments") in the ceremony itself. This was especially relevant to me as I volunteered on my shul's environmental committee. My child volunteered at an animal shelter and his Torah portion had to do with the ten plagues which he related to modern day ills such as pollution, clearing of forests, global warming, animals on the brink of extinction such as polar bears and so on. This book inspired me to make a tallit (prayer shawl)for him from fabric made of reclaimed wood, with designs incorporating trees, water, stars and sailboats. Growing up, our family did not attend a synagogue but stayed close to nature by sailing.
Also, much thought was given to the party afterwards as a result of this book - location was accessible to walkers as well as those who use public transportation or are physically challenged, carpools were set up, Kosher fair trade coffee was served, vegetarian food was served (even the carnivores liked it), tried to obtain local produce (try that in winter in New Jersey!), recycled/recyclable paper/plastic ware ware was used - then recycled again, decorations on the table consisted of framed certificates re donations to Jewish National Fund planting trees in Israel, leftover food was donated to local food pantry serving homeless and so on...
One issue is that our family is an intermarried family with me being a somewhat secular Jew and my husband evolving into an atheist who was raised as a Catholic. He had trouble with the title having "God" in it.
However, we both agree on "Jewish" values which are common to many cultures not just Jews: caring for the environment, kindness, compassion, helping fellow humans by visiting the sick/elderly, helping animals, eating with consciousness and so forth.
The book has chapters dealing with how to incorporate these values into the whole event - before, during and after.
I would recommend this book to anyone or any family, regardless of Jewish denomination: secular, reform, reconstructionist, Conservative, Orthodox, COnservadox, Modern Orthodox, unaffiliated, Secular Humanist, interfaith, intermarried, other...
I think the book takes the approach that the young person is stepping through to young adulthood and it is a process to grow up and become a "good" person or Jew - perhaps it can be a lifelong event. The book seeks to make the occasion mindful of good deeds.
By the way, "God" has many different meanings depending on who one speaks to...
I did like the way Salkin addresses the "God" issue and skeptical children (you'll just have to read it yourself with an open mind...).
I just gave the book four stars due to "God" in the title which was a turnoff if one doesn't open the book and read it if the potential reader is not from a traditional background.
The book covers all angles - relationship of bar or bat mitvah child to self, family, friends, community, humanity, spirit...cynical or devout children.
My suggestion: read it cover to cover and discuss it then make judgments.
Seeking true values, not just an opportunity to party.......2001-02-18
There are any number of books which are designed to help you plan the logistics of a bar/bat mitzvah. This book's main purpose, however, is not to be a party planning guide. Instead, this book reaffirms the important commitment a bar/bat mitzvah makes to Judism. A party is fine but truly connecting with God, our people and our ancestors is what the experience is all about. The bar/bat mitzvah experience is explored in a very spiritual, meanful way but not necessarily from the orthodox standpoint. Indeed, the authors are non orthodox. I recommend this book to all who wish to make the bar/bat mitzvah a meaningful means to grow as a Jew rather than as an end in itself.
Excellent book-shows the true significance of bar/bat mitzva.......1999-09-22
This book should be read by every parent whose child is approaching bar/bat mitzvah. Too often, the significance of the occasion is lost in the "big party". This book focuses on what is important about the bar/bat mitzvah-about accepting responsibilities such as study and performing mitzvot, about the service and about keeping the celebration in perspective. It focuses on the spiritual as it should and helps pull away from the social aspects that often overwhelm the true meaning of bar/bat mitzvah.
Book Description
Make Your Own Bar/Bat Mitzvah is using and inspiring guide that takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a very personal and meaningful Bar/Bat Mitzvah. This book offers a joyful and effective planning process that will help you produce a coming of age ritual filled with innovative ideas and sound guidance. Rabbi Goldie Milgram provides an effective, exciting process to help you organize this experience to meet your needs, in particular your studies, mentors, service, Torah talk, party, gifts and expressions of appreciation. Pragmatic and inspiring, this ground-breaking work will help students, families and communities to create healthy and memorably happy bar/bat mitzvah experiences.
Rabbi Goldie Milgram is spearheading the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Institute Initiative, developed under a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation and focused upon creating more meaningful and effective ways of preparing students for bar/bat mitzvah. Author of Reclaiming Judaism as a Spiritual Practice: Holy Days and Shabbat, she is Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit educational research and training group, Pnai Yachadut and also runs the highly regarded web site family ReclaimingJudaism.org.
Reb Goldie Milgram is an extraordinary, creative, and wise teacher/mentor/guide/partner in the exploration of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah process. She takes the reader on a multi-dimensioned journey to discover various meaningful traditions and rituals and, in turn, to express them into a spiritually significant celebration. This book is the Bar/Bat Mitzvah's equivalent to What Color Is Your Parachute.
-Peninnah Schram, author, Stories One Generation Tells to Another
Rabbi Goldie Milgram restores relevance and spirituality to the process of becoming bar/bat mitzvah. Her guidance is delivered with great wisdom and compassion. I highly recommend this work.
-David A Cooper, author of God is a Verb
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful guide for the upcoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah.......2007-08-08
My rabbi just lent me Rabbi Goldie's book, "Make your Own Bar/Bat Mitzvah," and I loved it. It is so in sync with what we are doing in our community and a perfect compliment to our program. I will be tutoring our B'nai Mitzvah kids this year and this book will be so helpful. I am going to make it required reading for the families. This book is a fabulous tool not only for the child in preparation for this coming of age rite of passage, but also a wonderful way to involve the entire family. Now I need to order Rabbi Goldie Milgram's other books.
No more cookie-cutter b'nai mitzvah.......2006-11-06
I take my Judaism seriously and wanted to be sure my son is getting the most out of his experience. This book freed our family from the bar mitzvah machine that our Temple has turned into and helped us come up with a bar mitzvah that is relevant to our Judaism. It is full of wonderful ideas - the only pitfall we keep coming to is keeping our "study sessions" of the schedule of things to do. Without having to make appointments, it's very easy to let things get pushed aside. I have already recommended this book to several of friends who are struggling with putting meaning into the process of bar/bat mitzvah prep.
a book that supports b mitzvahs as true rites of passage.......2006-01-12
Thank you Reb Goldie for your Bar/Bat Mitzvah book. I am delighted with it! At last a book that really supports the work I have been doing with B Mitzvah students toward making the whole process a true rite of passage and personal spiritual reflection.
Thanks so much!
Book Description
Why not make planning your child's Bar or Bat Mitzvah one of the happiest times in your life?Now thanks to this indispensable, all-inclusive guide, you can: Obtain complete information on how to plan the perfect Bar or Bat Mitzvah Save thousands of dollars and free yourself from worrisome details Be guided every step of the way, from the temple service to the reception to the seating arrangements Freel well organized and assured that no detail is overlooked, by using the handy countdown and checklists Receive tips, suggestions, and advice based on numerous personal experiences Use ann easy-to-follow method for recording invitations sent, responses received, gifts and thank-you notes Keep track of addresses, telephone numbers, appointments, costs, and decisions that need to be made Discover helpful hints for choosing your photographer, videographer, musicians, florists, decorator, entertainment, favors, invitations, and clothing Compare prices easily as you visit catererers, musicians, photographers, videographers, florists, printers, etc. Give this as a perfect gift to special friencs or relatives to help them plan an eventful day Relex and enjoy your day with everything going exactly the way you planned
Customer Reviews:
Planning organizer.......2007-09-22
This is a big planning organizer that you use to write in. If you are looking for a party planning bood this is not it. I am using it in conjunction with the"party" books.
There are better books available.......2006-08-28
This book is basically a party planner. It was probably useful before so many people were proficient with computer spreadsheets, like Excel. It provides space for lots of lists, which now would be much easier to keep on computer. Basically, technology has made this book obsolete.
There are descriptions of what to look for in a photographer, caterer, etc but they are pretty basic.
The one useful part of the book is a simple "countdown" calender - "Countdown to the Big Day," which lists all the major activities to be completed prior to the bar mitzvah.
I think you could do better with other books that cover the party AND the "mitzvah" aspects of a bar mitzvah.
Worthless.......2004-06-30
I found this book totally disappointing. The advice is obvious even to inexperienced party planners. (For example, in the chapter on invitations there is a section on ink color that states only: "There are many colors to consider.") Most of the book consists of lined pages for you to write your price comparisons for vendors, such as photographers. There are 20 pages lined for you to fill in guest addresses, with little boxes to check off if you have written a thank you note. My copy of this book is going straight into the recycling pile.
This Book is strictly for party planning.......2001-02-18
This book is basically a workbook in which you are directed to make lists etc for all the myriad aspects of planning a bar/bat mitzvah reception. You are guided to all the details you must take care of to make a successful reception. If you are looking for a book to explain the religious experience of the bar/bat mitzvah, this book is definitely not for you. If you wish to have a big reception, then this book fits the bill. If the book is useful to you, I hope you will spend at least equal time in preparing for the religious element of bar/bat mitzvah and use an excellent guide such as "Putting God on Your Guest List." My 4 star rating is based on the assumption that the reader wants a party planner only. If you want more, this book is not for you.
This Book is strictly for party planning.......2001-02-18
This book is basically a workbook in which you are directed to make lists etc for all the myriad aspects of planning a bar/bat mitzvah reception. You are guided to all the details you must take care of to make a successful reception. If you are looking for a book to explain the religious experience of the bar/bat mitzvah, this book is definitely not for you. If you wish to have a big reception, then this book fits the bill. If the book is useful to you, I hope you will spend at least equal time in preparing for the religious element of bar/bat mitzvah and use an excellent guide such as "Putting God on Your Guest List." My 4 star rating is based on the assumption that the reader wants a party planner only. If you want more, this book is not for you.
Book Description
A striking look at the Jewish rite-and at American Jews in all their diversity
Since its emergence here a century ago, the bar or bat mitzvah has become a distinctively American rite of passage, so much so that, in certain suburbs today, gentile families throw parties for their thirteen-year-olds, lest they feel left out. How did this come about? To answer that question, Mark Oppenheimer set out across America to attend the most distinctive b'nai mitzvah he could find, and Thirteen and a Day is the story of what he found- an altogether fresh look at American Jews today.
Beginning with the image of a party of gaudy excess, Oppenheimer then goes farther afield in the great tradition of literary journalists from Joseph Mitchell to Ian Frazier and Susan Orlean. The two dozen Jews of Fayetteville, Arkansas, he finds, open their synagogue to eccentrics from all over the Ozarks. Those of Lake Charles, Louisiana, pass the hat to cover the expenses of their potluck dinner. And in Anchorage, Alaska, a Hasidic boy's bar mitzvah in a snowed-in hotel becomes a striking image of how far the Jewish diaspora has spread. In these people's company, privy to their soul-searching about their religious heritage, Oppenheimer finds that the day is full of wonder and significance.
Part travelogue, part spiritual voyage, Thirteen and a Day is a lyrical, entertaining, even revelatory look at American Jews and one of the most original books of literary journalism to appear in some years.
Customer Reviews:
Today I am a fountain pen..........2006-09-27
Even though it's nominally about bar mitzvah celebrations, this book really uses them as a taking-off point to look at the state of Judaism in America today, from Temple Emanu-El to the Lubavitchers, with numerous stops in between. I had actually expected (with a mixture of anticipation and dread) that the book would be mostly about the over-the-top parties of the type we see in the recent movie Keeping Up With The Steins. Oppenheimer does discuss these affairs, but most of the book is about the personal Jewish experience in a variety of places around the country: I found the most interesting part to be the study of a tiny congregation in St. Charles, Louisiana. Highly readable, highly recommended.
A Kultural Kaleidoscope...........2006-01-18
Although it drags in places, especially the over-coverage of obscenely expensive keep-up-with-the-Cohens parties, it's mostly well written, interesting and thought provoking. One under-reported aspect, in my experience, is the role played by b'nai mitzvah in bringing together and maintaining the bonds of far-flung families. With 'living together' as common as marriage, and with low key ceremonies and elopements the frequent follow-through to 'living together', family get-togethers could be decades apart without the b'nai mitzvah events.
Almost as good as doing your own Bar Mitzvah.......2005-12-20
As a Jew who did not celebrate his Bar Mitzvah, I learned a vast amount from this visit to 10 Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrants, their families, friends and neighbors. There are truly wonderful human interest stories of Jews, non-Jews, erstwhile Jews, and Jewish converts from New York to Alaska, from youths to late middle-agers preparing for the big day. This volume reminded me of another recently published totally absorbing memoir (Shanda, the Making and Breaking of a Self-loathing Jew) by Neal Karlen; both authors tell of belatedly embracing their Jewish roots and finding inestimable rewards in Jewish culture and in devotion to religious observance. Extremely heart-warming and inspiring for those who have wandered away and are considering re-examining what Judaism has to offer.
First-rate and Very Readable.......2005-09-12
This is a first-rate survey of an established custom. The book goes through many varieties of bar and bat mitzvat, demonstrating that they are not all alike. It focuses on values and choices, so that a person planning a bar or bat mitzvah can reflect on the values that he or she wishes to convey to the bar or bat mitzvah and to the congregation at large. While it is highly readable -- and not at all boring -- it has a significant depth that educates and challenges preconceived notions. It should be read by all parents who contemplate a bar or bat mitzvah for their child. I have otdered additiional copies for other family members for this reason.
Finding Yourself by Finding Others.......2005-07-23
This wonderful book charts a double journey. It is a journalist's voyage through Jewish America, with Oppenheimer serving as a kind of traveling anthropologist who is examining an important religious ritual in its various manifestations. But it is also an autobiography, a coming-to-grips with roots, with the possibilities for religious belief, and a quasi-Oedipal rebellion against the author's frankly secular, modern, atheistic, non-observant, left-wing Jewish parents, who came of age in the 60s. Young Oppenheimer, a product of the 90s, came to look at the Jewish religion first in an academic way, and then was gradually drawn in to the mysteries and the doctrines of his people. By looking at the practice of the Bar and Bat Mitzvah in expected places (New York City) as well as unexpected ones (Alaska, Arkansas), Oppenheimer presents a full and generous (as well as a funny and informative) account of why people worship and believe as they do. The book makes sense for anyone involved in a similar personal quest, or for anyone interested in fine writing.
Books:
- Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America
- Beyond the Yellow Brick Road: Revised
- Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
- Bound and Determined (Berkley Sensation)
- Building Background Knowledge For Academic Achievement: Research On What Works In Schools
- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
- Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
- Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit of Hope, Healing and Forgiveness (Chicken Soup for the Soul)
- Childhood's End
- Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up /
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- One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd
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- Six Ideas That Shaped Physics: Unit R - Laws of Physics are Frame-Independent
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General
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Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods (P.S.)
Yiddish with Dick and Jane
Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish
The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt
Interior Desecrations: Hideous Homes from the Horrible '70s
