Bat mitzva

In Jerusalem, a Bat Mitzvah celebration honors fatherless girls – and a long-term promise

At Colel Chabad’s annual 22 Shevat event, daughters of widows mark a milestone with music and joy, as organizers stress a commitment that extends far beyond a single day.

FEBRUARY 18, 2026|ByRONNIE ROSENMAN

Daughters of widows celebrate their bat-mitzvah at Chabad’s annual 22 Shevat event

'I never had a bar mitzvah,' lone soldiers from Ethiopia to celebrate at the Western Wall

The ceremony is expected to bring together soldiers and soldiers without immediate family in Israel, many of whom immigrated alone and joined the Israel Defense Forces.

FEBRUARY 11, 2026|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

An IDF orphan, wearing a beret from the Nachal Brigade, celebrating his bar mitzvah at the Kotel in Jerusalem, October 20, 2025.

Forty-eight IDF orphans mark bnei mitzvah at Western Wall

Forty-eight children who lost a parent in IDF service marked their bnei mitzvah at the Western Wall in a ceremony of unity and remembrance.

OCTOBER 21, 2025|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Athar Aboreesh worked as a counselor on the IDFWO’s Superheroes Trip.

From Yarka to New York: An IDF Orphan’s Journey of Healing

The IDF Widows and Orphans Organization’s annual “Superheroes Trip” brings bereaved children together; for counselor Athar Aboreesh, it became a journey of healing too.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2025|ByRONNIE ROSENMAN

Unaffiliated youth inspired on bar/bat mitzvah trip to Israel

Unaffiliated Jewish youth were treated to a special tour of Israel to mark their bar and bat mitzvah birthdays, marking their journey into adulthood.

MARCH 10, 2019ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Bat mitzvah age girls decorate Shabbat candlestick holders during the Rabbinical Center of Europe trip to Israel, March 2019

A second bar mitzvah

Life lessons passed down from generation to generation.

DECEMBER 6, 2018ByBENITA LEVIN

A second bar mitzvah is a rare and special simcha

Victims of terror come of age

The event was moderated by supermodel Esti Ginzburg, who told the young boys and girls never to give up on following their dreams.

NOVEMBER 19, 2018ByGREER FAY CASHMAN

Rivlin hosted a bar- and batmitzvah event for children of families affected in terrorist attacks.

This teen had a gender neutral b’nei mitzvah

As transgender and gender nonconforming people gain more acceptance, synagogues are having to think about how to welcome those with a diverse set of gender identities.

MARCH 2, 2018ByJTA

The oldest ever Birthright participant

Instagram celebrity CrazyJewishMom - and her daughter - just wrapped up an unforgettable trip around Israel.

DECEMBER 25, 2017ByAMY SPIRO

Kim Friedman, age 68, and her daughter Kate Siegel (center) participates in Birthright amongst much younger peers.

Couple sues NYC hotel for ‘starving’ the guests at daughter’s bat mitzva

Without enough food, party goers resorted to desperate measures.

DECEMBER 11, 2017ByJTA

At Western Wall, Holocaust survivors finally celebrate their b'nei mitzva

45 men and women from the former Soviet Union belatedly mark the Jewish milestone in Jerusalem.

NOVEMBER 14, 2017ByTAMARA ZIEVE

Holocaust survivors celebrate their bnei mitzvot at the Western Wall, November 2017

Agreeing to disagree: The value of religious doubt

It was clear that some of the bride’s still-religious family really had to hold back their judgment as the wedding party danced down the aisle to the music of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017ByBRIAN BLUM