blessing

Bar/Bat Mitzvah (R)evolution

The B-Mitzvah (R)evolution

Re-infusing meaning, relevance and spirituality into Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah is what families request, when given the opportunity for input. I did my doctorate on this topic and that was the overwhelming finding. Families report needing help to overcome the often toxic social and educational norms that have arisen regarding the B'nei Mitzvah process and to revision and adopt healthy new models.

Judaism and Blessing a New Labyrinth

Question: Is it Jewish to walk a labyrinth?

Rabbi Milgram writes: "In medieval times, walking a labyrinth in a cathedral, such as the famous one at Chartres, France, was considered the inner equivalent of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and more particularly, to the holy of holies, the central location of God’s indwelling. This is a recognition that Jerusalem is not just a city of stone and mortar, but a state of mind and spirit.

Our father Abraham called the city “Yireh,” seeing beyond what is known to us, moving from wilderness to what is promised. His friend and ally, Malchitzedek, called the city “Shalem,” wholeness. A pilgrimage to Yerushalayim in the labyrinth is to move from wilderness to wholeness, to pure awe and respect for Creator and Creation and one's place within the whole and within the holy."