The bar mitzvah (and even more so the bat mitzvah) is a relatively new phenomena.

Suggestions for adding social action to this rite of passage.

For a traditional family, the appropriate date for a bar/bat mitzvah is the Shabbat on or following the child's birthday, but for a liberal family, selecting a date can be more complicated.

What to expect and how to behave at a bar/bat mitzvah service.

The defining moment of the ceremony is the child's first aliyah, but children may also play additional roles in the service.

Education is a deeply embedded value in Jewish tradition.

Interfaith families should ask the rabbi about synagogue policies and honestly examine both parents' attachments to Judaism.

A family educator offers words of advice to the family.

Divorced parents must rise above their own differences and make the day special for the child.

Countless organizations, both Jewish and not, are dedicated to Holocaust education and supporting survivors.