Students spend a full year preparing for their b’nai mitzvah. They study their Torah and Haftarah portions, they write speeches and prepare to perform before family and friends.
But the preparation also involves learning what it means to be an adult member of the Jewish community and how to become responsible for doing their own mitzvot.
The Jewish Federation’s B’nai Tzedek program helps teens recognize the importance of fulfilling the mitzvah of tzdakah and teaches them to be philanthropists in a responsible adult way that reflects their values.
Each participant will invest $300 from the gifts he or she receives for his/her bar/bat mitzvah, and a $200 match will be provided from the Lewis D. Cole B’nai Tzedek Fund. The teens will then be able to contribute the interest generated by their funds to non-profit organizations.
Through the B’nai Tzedek program, they will learn how to choose the organization(s) that will receive their gifts.