B'nai Mitzvah
TO BE THIRTEEN
To be thirteen is to stand between two worlds: the past of childhood and the promise of adulthood. Adolescence is the bridge between them. Crossing that bridge can be, at times, precarious and painful. An important aspect of becoming a bar/bat mitzvah at Congregation Ner Shalom is that the experience provides our young people with the kinds of skills and experiences (e.g., discipline, self-reliance, self-trust, capacity for abstract thinking) they will need to navigate a path to a meaningful adult religious life.
Ner Shalom's Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program seeks to maintain high standards. Our students are expected to acquire a significant amount of Jewish learning and competency. In leading a worship service, working with a tutor over an extended period of time, studying with the rabbi, giving a speech, etc. our students are asked to meet adult demands.
The program is designed to cultivate a student's capacity for critical and creative thinking. Through focused engagement with Jewish texts (Torah, midrash, prayers) and interaction with the tutor, rabbi, b'nei mitzvah coordinator and others the program helps the student reach is greatest potential- personally, spiritually, morally.
If a child seeks only to get his or her bar/bat mitzvah "over with", the congregation has failed in its mission. It is our sincere hope that this concentrated period of study foster a thirst for Jewish learning that will be an abiding source of personal strength.
More information is provided in Congregation Ner Shalom's B'Nai Mitzvah Handbook.
Sat, May 28 2022
27 Iyyar 5782
Upcoming Events
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Wednesday ,
JunJune 1 , 2022
Wednesday, Jun 1st 10:30a to 12:00p
Our next meeting will be June 1 at 10:30 on Zoom to discuss the book, The Lost Shtetl by Max Gross. What if there was a town that history missed? For decades, the tiny Jewish shtetl of Kreskol existed in happy isolation, virtually untouched and unchanged. Spared by the Holocaust and the Cold War, its residents enjoyed remarkable peace. It missed out on cars, and electricity, and the internet, and indoor plumbing. But when a marriage dispute spins out of control, the whole town comes crashing into the twenty-first century. Pesha Lindauer, who has just suffered an ugly, acrimonious divorce, suddenly disappears. A day later, her husband goes after her, setting off a panic among the town elders. They send a woefully unprepared outcast named Yankel Lewinkopf out into the wider world to alert the Polish authorities. Venturing beyond the remote safety of Kreskol, Yankel is confronted by the beauty and the ravages of the modern-day outside world – and his reception is met with a confusing mix of disbelief, condescension, and unexpected kindness. When the truth eventually surfaces, his story and the existence of Kreskol make headlines nationwide. Returning Yankel to Kreskol, the Polish government plans to reintegrate the town that time forgot. Yet in doing so, the devious origins of its disappearance come to the light. And what has become of the mystery of Pesha and her former husband? Divided between those embracing change and those clinging to its old world ways, the people of Kreskol will have to find a way to come together . . . or risk their village disappearing for good. -
Friday ,
JunJune 3 , 2022
Friday, Jun 3rd 7:00p to 9:00p
A special Shabbat led by our Confirmands! -
Saturday ,
JunJune 4 , 2022
Shabbat, Jun 4th 7:00p to 11:00p
A short festival evening service, followed by learning and dairy delicacies. After the adults drift off, it's a camp out for the teens! Adults return in the morning for a festival morning service. -
Sunday ,
JunJune 5 , 2022
Sunday, Jun 5th 8:00a to 10:00a
Pick up for our teens who camped out, and a Festival Morning Service for everyone. A celebration of receiving the Torah from Mt. Sinai! Also bagels. -
Sunday ,
JunJune 5 , 2022
Sunday, Jun 5th 1:00p to 2:00p
Join Rabbi Lizz and the Ner Shalom lifelong education crew for a dip into Talmudic learning. -
Friday ,
JunJune 10 , 2022
Friday, Jun 10th 7:30p to 8:30p
In person! Masks required. -
Sunday ,
JunJune 12 , 2022
Sunday, Jun 12th 1:00p to 2:00p
Join Rabbi Lizz and the Ner Shalom lifelong education crew for a dip into Talmudic learning. -
Friday ,
JunJune 17 , 2022
Friday, Jun 17th 7:30p to 8:30p
Streaming only; on YouTube and Facebook -
Saturday ,
JunJune 18 , 2022
Shabbat, Jun 18th 10:00a to 11:00a
At the synagogue! -
Sunday ,
JunJune 19 , 2022
Sunday, Jun 19th 1:00p to 2:00p
Join Rabbi Lizz and the Ner Shalom lifelong education crew for a dip into Talmudic learning.
Ner Shalom in the News
- Washington Jewish Week - June 30, 2020
CNS Branded Masks Save Lives
- Prince WIlliam Living - September 20, 2019
Annual Patriot Day Shabbat
- Prince William Living - August 26, 2019
Learn About the Jewish High Holidays!
- Prince William Living - July 16, 2019
Synagogue in Summer
- Prince William Living - May 16, 2019
Seasons of Our Joy
- Prince William Living - March 20, 2019
- Learning About Jewish Traditions
- Building an Inclusive & Vibrant Community
- - Prince William Living - December 14, 2018
- The Future of the Community
- - Prince William Living - November 20, 2018
- Coming Together After a National Tragedy
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