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BOOK REVIEWS
- RETURN Jayne Cohen and Lori Weinrott, the team of authors
who wrote The Ultimate Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration Book: A Guide to
Inspiring Ceremonies and Joyous Festivities (Potter) are, respectively,
a journalist and an event planner, and both are mothers. “Making
it personal, but within the tradition — this is the essence of
Judaism,” they write. “For unless we reinvent the customs
so that they are meaningful to us, the ritual becomes stale and hollow.”
Their book is full of examples for personalizing the synagogue
service and for designing a joyous and stylish celebration. Among their
suggestions is the idea of planning floral centerpieces around a mitzvah;
they tell of one family that created an Andy Warhol-like still life
of Campbell’s soup cans (to be donated to a food bank) accented
with little bouquets of red and white zinnias. They suggest resources
for purchasing handcrafted kippot by needy artisans and for donating
dressy clothes afterwards to be given another life as at a less fortunate
person’s simcha. For the party, they discuss budgets, menu planning, tips
in working with caterers and creating an atmosphere of music and dance.
In sidebars, they present examples of themed celebrations: a party in
a butterfly garden, a celebration of Chanukah and the new moon and a
reception for a 52-year-old bar mitzvah boy. Linda Burghardt, a journalist who lives in Great Neck,
first began thinking of writing The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Book: Joyful
Ceremonies and Celebration for Today’s Families (Citadel Press)
while her twin daughters were approaching the age of 13. She suggests
putting the “why” before the “how” in terms
of preparation and study, emphasizing values, education and the spiritual
potential of this rite of passage. Interspersed in the text are sidebars with information
about gaining skills by computer, resources for writing a d’var
Torah, questions for the “Mitzvah Maven,” like what makes
wine kosher, and guidance in doing a bar or bat mitzvah in Israel. Burghardt
also provides budget-stretching strategies, party planning schedule
and choices to weigh about entertainment. Her afterword, “Living Jewishly After the Bar or Bat Mitzvah,” includes a wide variety of resources and suggestions. “With a little luck, a lot of study, and a mind and heart open to the Jewish way of life [the bar or bat mitzvah] can be a door into the future all parents want for their children, a future that provides them with everything we hold dear: the love of the Jewish people, the wisdom of Jewish law, and the strength of Jewish tradition.”
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