CONTENTS

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS vii
3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
4. NOTES ON KEY TERMS xiii
5. 1. It’s Not Duddy Kravitz’s Bar Mitzvah Anymore: Bar and Bat Mitzvah in the Twenty-First Century 1
6. 2. Describing the Context: Congregations and the Bar or Bat Mitzvah Service 16
7. 3. Students and Parents, Rabbis and Teachers: Different Roles, Different Standpoints 37
8. 4. Variations on a Theme: Different Meanings and Motives 58
9. 5. What If I Drop the Torah? From Learning to Doing Judaism 78
10. 6. What Are They Doing on the Bimah? Setting Boundaries around Bar or Bat Mitzvah Participation 102
11. 7. Whose Bimah Is It, Anyway? Public Shabbat Service or Private Bar or Bat Mitzvah Ritual 124
12. 8. A Very Narrow Bridge: Bar and Bat Mitzvah and Connecting to the Jewish Future 146
13. METHODOLOGICAL APPENDIX 161
14. NOTES 179
15. REFERENCES 195
16. INDEX 205
17. ABOUT THE AUTHOR 213