Welcome: Hi guys! During this fold we will go through condensed versions of the 4 main stops of the Jewish Life Cycle- Simchat Bat, Bat Mitzvah, Wedding, and Funeral. This is a fun fold so please laugh and have a great time! However, when we are talking about something or explaining an activity, DO NOT SAY A WORD! Be respectful of the people that are trying to help this fold run smoothly without our sganit or shlicha.
SIMCHAT BAT
(Supplies-poster,baby pictures,tape)
Megan-It’s a girl! When do you name her? When should you throw the party? After eight days, two weeks, a month? As opposed to a brit, circumcision, of a boy on the eighth day, there are no explicit rituals for a girl. Instead, there are customs for a Simchat Bat, celebration of a birth of a daughter.The birth of a child is a momentous occasion that we all want to share with everyone around us. That is why we, in modern day times, have created a more formal service of bringing our daughters into the world -- into the covenant with G-d -- the same as what we do for our sons. Since there is no specific format to go by, people have created their own traditions as to when to have a “party” for the baby -- celebrate the Simchat Bat -- and what rituals, if any, are performed at the festivity.
Some have a light meal after synagogue the Sabbath in which the father has named the baby, while others invite family and friends to their home or to a hall on a different day to share in their joy (simcha). Others opt to make it into more of a traditional ceremony citing various prayers (such as from the Book of Psalms), saying a special blessing over wine and having a festive meal.
(Choose someone to be the Rabbi and someone to be the baby)
Rabbi- “The one Who blessed (our mothers,) Sarah and Rivkah, Rachel and Leah, and the prophet Miriam and Abigayil and Queen Esther, daughter of Abichayil — may He bless this beloved girl and let her name (in Israel) be ... [insert first name here] with good luck and in a blessed hour; and may she grow up with good health, peace and tranquility; and may her father and her mother see her joy and her wedding, and sons, riches and honour; and may they be healthy into old age; and may this be the [divine] will, and say ye, Amen!”.
Megan- For our activity, we will be guessing who is who as a baby! I will tape your pictures to the posterboard and we will go through each picture for everyone to guess. Surely we haven’t changed THAT much since we were babies!
**Play Game**
BAT MITZVAH
**Kitchen** (Supplies: Fruit Roll Ups,Pretzels,writing Icing)
Dara-- So what does it mean to become a bar mitzvah? Under Jewish Law, children are not obligated to observe the commandments, although they are encouraged to do so as much as possible to learn the obligations they will have as adults. At the age of 13 (12 for girls), children become obligated to observe the commandments. The bar mitzvah ceremony formally, publicly marks the assumption of that obligation, along with the
corresponding right to take part in leading religious services, to count in a minyan (the minimum number of people needed to perform certain parts of religious services), to form binding contracts, to testify before religious courts and to marry.
Is it necessary?? A Jewish boy automatically becomes a bar mitzvah upon reaching the age of 13 years, and a girl upon reaching the age of 12 years. No ceremony is needed to confer these rights and obligations. The popular bar mitzvah ceremony is not required, and does not fulfill any commandment. In fact,it is not even mentioned in the Talmud.
((Choose 3 people to read about the 3 women listed))
Dara-Most girls becoming Bat Mitzvah give a speech. Here are the 3 women that are written about the most in Bat Mitzvah speeches.
1)Golda Meir: 4th prime minister of the state of Israel and 2nd foreign affairs minister of Israel. Escaped from Russia with her family and moved to Milwaukee. Eventually moved to Israel with her husband. She was also the Ambassador to Moscow. She was the first female in Parliament and is now buried on the famous Mount Herzl in Jerusalem
2) Anne Frank: A teenage girl from Germany whose family moved to Netherlands and hid in an apartment above her father's office in his building for nearly 2 years instead of being sent to the death camps of the Holocaust. On August 4, 1944, Anne and her family were found. Her sister Margot (pronounced Margo) and her mother were killed and Anne died 6 weeks before her camp was liberated. While she was in hiding, she kept a journal which her father published after his survival.
3) Ruth Bader Ginsberg: first Jewish female Supreme Court Justice and second female one of the United States. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton and even though she did not answer any questions in the interview, the Senate approved of her by vote of 96 to 3.
Dara-To commemorate the reading of the Torah at your Bat Mitzvah or anyone’s that you have ever been to… we will be making edible Torahs using Pretzels,fruit rollups,and writing icing. Use the icing to help the pretzels stick to the fruit roll up, then use the writing icing to write either the date of your Bat Mitzvah or something else having to do with a Bat Mitzvah. Its probably not “kosher” to eat a torah…so don’t write any torah passages on the fruit roll up please!!
WEDDING
Do this outside! (supplies: sheet for huppah,bag with glass in it,Hava Nagillah on computer or cd player or whatever)
Megan- Moving on from the Bat Mitzvah, the next major stop in the Jewish life cycle is your wedding to the NJB of your choosing. The basic breakdown of a Jewish wedding is:
1.The Ketubah signing- the ketubah is a marriage contract signed by the rabbi, the groom and 2 male witnesses, although the bride usually signs also.
2. Veiling of the Bride. This may only be in Orthodox weddings, but other denominations partake in this tradition also. This tradition stems from the story of Jacob when he was given Leah instead of Rachel.
3. Finally the official wedding begins. The Huppah is the focal point and the couple is married underneath it.
4.Vows- The bride and groom each drink from a cup of wine after the proper blessings are said. ((** Choose a rabbi, a groom,and a bride and 4 people to hold up the chuppah)) Vows:
Rabbi: We praise You G-d, Ruler of the universe, who hallows us with your blessings and consecrates this marriage. We praise You G-d, who sanctifies us through the sacred rite of marriage at the chupa.
Rabbi: And now I ask you, in the presence of G-d and this assembly:
Do you (groom’s name) take (bride’s name) to be your wife, to love, to honor and to cherish?
Rabbi : Do you (bride’s name) take (groom’s name) to be your husband, to love, to honor and to cherish?
(RINGS)
Rabbi :(groom’s name) and (bride’s name), speak the words and exchange the rings that make you husband and wife.
Rabbi: (groom’s name), as you place the ring on the finger of the one you love, recite the words that formally unite you in marriage.
Groom : Be consecrated to me with this ring as my wife: in keeping with the heritage of our faith: and the laws of Moses and Israel.
Rabbi : (bride’s name), as you place the ring on the finger of the one you love, recite the words that formally unite you in marriage.
Bride : Be consecrated to me with this ring as my husband: in keeping with the heritage of our faith: and the laws of Moses and Israel.
Rabbi: May God bless you and keep you. May God’s presence shine upon you and be gracious to you. May God’s presence be with you and give you shalom; peace.
(Place glass in bag near their feet. count to 3)
Break Glass
Everyone: MAZEL TOV!!!
** Becca will teach Hora to everyone! Then play Hava Nagilah and dance!!!
FUNERAL
- (SUPPLIES- TEA CANDLES,MARKERS,PAINT)
Dara- We are now 6 or 7 decades down the road. We have a few children, and a lot of grandchildren. We have officially retired from our very successful law firm in east Memphis and we are now living it up in Boca Raton. However, at 80 or 90 years old, we have lost our good health…and we die. Unfortunately, the mortality rate is 100%. Whether or not you have a bat mitzvah or a wedding…you are DEFINITELY having a funeral.
A modern Jewish funeral is not entirely different from a secular funeral. The rabbi or other clergyman gives a brief eulogy or other loved ones may say something remembering the person that has died.
However, “sitting Shiva” is a custom that is still practiced by many. It is a 7 day mourning period where the mourner does not work or focus on anything but the loss of their family member.
Every year on the anniversary of the death of that person, their family must light a candle in remembrance of that person. This is called a “Yartzeit”.
In honor of “BBG Founders Day” which was Thursday, we will be making a Yartzeit candle honoring Anita Perlman, the founder of Bnai Brith Girls. She is the very reason you are sitting here today and the very reason that someone from another city such as Nashville (Rebecca Hanai) can feel at home with this group of girls because we are united under a common cause. Although this date doesn’t correspond with her actual date of death, make a candle in honor of her memory…or if you wish, you are more than welcome to make a candle honoring the memory of another person that is no longer with us.
**Pass out candles and markers and paint**
Basic Timeline:
0:00-0:15- talk./eat, wait for everyone to arrive
0:15-0:20- Havdalah
0:20-0:40- Baby Naming/Baby Picture game
0:40-1:00- Bat Mitzvah/ Torah Craft
1:00-1:25- Wedding/Hora
1:25-1:45- Funeral/Candle