The B'nei Mitzvah Process

B’nei Mitzvah Orientation
  • Your child’s orientation will be scheduled for 10-12 months prior to your child’s service.
  • Your child will meet their assigned clergy and will receive their Torah portion materials. 
  • You will have an opportunity to meet other families and hear about what the journey will look like in the upcoming year. 
  • Your family will be signed up for Mitzvah Tools, an app where we keep track of your child’s progress and through which you communicate with your tutor and b’nei mitzvah team.
Tutoring Process (begins approximately 10 months prior to the service)
  • The B’nei Mitzvah office will connect you with a tutor based on the recommendation of your religious school or Brawerman educators in an effort to match your child with the tutor who best matches with your child’s learning style.
  •  You will work directly with your tutor to schedule a weekly half-hour session that is convenient for both parties.
  • Tutors review prayers with the students, and help them prepare their Torah and Haftarah portions.
  • Currently most tutoring is virtual via Zoom, unless you or your school administrator feels your child would learn best in person, then we would discuss other options.
  • Tutoring sessions are 30 minutes and students meet with their tutors 28 times total during a set weekly time. If additional tutoring is required in order for your child to meet b’nei mitzvah requirements, this is provided by the temple for an additional charge.
  • The required preparation classes for all B’nei Mitzvah students are:

o Theology with assigned your child’s assigned Rabbi (small group meeting)
o Shabbat Liturgy with one of our Cantors (small group meeting)
o D’var Torah 1 with assigned rabbi (individual or small group meeting, when
students learn how to write a d’var Torah, their speech).
o D’var Torah 2 with assigned rabbi (students bring a rough draft of the d’var Torah
speech to this meeting)

  • You will receive Theology and liturgy class dates in the materials you receive at orientation and your assigned Rabbi’s assistant will reach out to you via email to schedule the d’var Torah sessions.
Weekend of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah
  • In the weeks leading up to the service, families have a minimum of two rehearsals with their assigned Cantor. The scheduling for these rehearsals is done by the Cantor’s assistant. 
  • Participation in the Friday night service is expected. If Friday evening services are offered in multiple locations on the night before your child’s service, you can decide which location works best for your family.  
  • Morning services begin at 10:00 AM (until about 12 PM) and afternoon services begin at 4:30 PM (until about 6PM).
Events at the Temple
  • Whether you plan to host a Shabbat dinner on Friday night, a kiddush luncheon following your morning service, or plan to have your party on one of our campuses we can help you with details. Please contact Cheryl Garland (Glazer campus) at cgarland@wbtla.org, Kim Supple (AIP) at ksupple@wbtla.org, Bonnie Kebre (Irmas campus) at bkebre@wbtla.org, or events@wbtla.org (Resnick campus).

We encourage you to explore our B’nei Mitzvah page on the WBT website where you will find a checklist and other helpful information as you plan for your child’s B’nei Mitzvah service. If you are unable to find answers to your questions you can email Jennifer Kaufman at jkaufman@wbtla.org or reach her at (424) 208-8971.