This is a book about embracing change for one of the most sacred ceremonies in Jewish tradition: the Bar Mitzvah. The current model of Bar Mitzvah training doesn't seem to resonate with teenagers today. Cantor Matt Axelrod explains why the ceremony should be adapted to combine personal interests (art, music, sports) to the original traditions. This connection allows a more positive path to preparing and learning about the ceremony and its rich traditions. The book will challenge the status quo of the past as a new generation of Hebrew leadership emerges, and proposes to become the resource guide of choice to better prepare synagogues for reuniting students (and parents!) to the Bar Mitzvah tradition and celebration.
Cantor Axelrod is the author of Surviving Your Bar/Bat Mitzvah: The Ultimate Insider's Guide and Your Guide to the Jewish Holidays: From Shofar to Seder, and has been a regular columnist and contributor to the online Bar & Bat Mitzvah Guide. He has been a frequent presenter at synagogues, Jewish community centers, and conferences to speak to groups of parents and teens about the process of preparing for their B'nei Mitzvah and how to successfully navigate that period. Cantor Axelrod is a past member of the United Synagogue Commission on Jewish education, and currently serves as a national officer of the Cantors Assembly.
By breaking the b'nai mitzvah rite of passage down to its core goals and rethinking how they can be achieved, Cantor Axelrod is truly encouraging educators to 'raise the bar' and expand our thinking about this core touchpoint of Jewish engagement. Through this process, each community, family, and individual can explore their unique visions for the bar mitzvah, and build experiences that are personally meaningful and collectively impactful.--Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath, Associate Director of Adolescent Initiatives for the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland Cantor Axelrod has dared to grapple with a central truth of Judaism: the bar or bat mitzvah ceremony is broken in all sorts of ways, but since people hate change, and Jews are people, nobody wants to fix it. He has seen a better way, and if we can open our eyes and ears to his suggestions, our children will be the beneficiaries.--Mark Oppenheimer, author The Bar Mitzvah Crasher: Road-tripping through Jewish America Written from the perspective of a long-time cantor in the Conservative movement, Raising the Bar Mitzvah contributes to the discourse about the mission and execution of children's Jewish education in religiously liberal communities. Written accessibly, Axelrod advocates for greater flexibility for the ceremony and preparation as the best way to encourage living "a life of Jewish value."--Roberta Rosenthal Kwall, Raymond P. Niro Professor, DePaul University College of Law and author of Remix Judaism: Preserving Tradition in a Diverse World and The Myth of the Cultural Jew: Culture and Law in Jewish Tradition
