Birkat Chaverim Blog

I made this one with my daughter (she chose to do a cat) but prior to that we made some of these in my chug/class (I havent found the pictures yet! When I do Ill post them.) Continue reading »

The title probably should be something like “Taking advantage of Melabev’s book launch to talk about Bar and Bat Mitzvah activities.”

To give a brief overview- Melabev is a community center(s) for people with dementia. They have programs for early stage  dementia patients to both have ongoing mental stimulation and provide respite for their families. They have many different programs, including memory clubs and have programs in several languages.

On June 30th, those of you who live in the central area of Israel might be interested in coming to the book launch for “Alzheimer and other Dementias. Treating and Coping with Mentally Frail in the Community” (Hebrew.) There are all types of articles related to the care of people with early and late stages of dementia as well as articles on supporting families and even spiritual care of dementia patients.  The book launch with be at Melabev June 30 7:30, Derech Beit Lechem 152. For details contact 052 7203025.

Disclosure- my sister edited the book and contributed several articles, including “Intergenerational activities-young people and dementia patients.” Which relates to an activity that could be done for Bar and Bat Mitzvot. Melabev welcomes young celebrants who wish to celebrate their Bar/Bat Mitzvah with center participants. Its fun for people who attend the centers and a good learning experience and chesed opportunity for children and their families.

For more information you can be in touch with Melabev via their website or contact me and I’ll make sure they get your questions.

I like the idea of the Areyvut Bnai Mitzvah Video Essay contest and thought it would be relevant to some of the blog readers. I like the idea of turning family celebrations into meaningful experiences which give back to the community. A while back I requested readers to let us know how they made their family celebrations meaningful. I felt that it would be helpful to others planning celebrations to see what other families have done (I’m still looking for submissions so feel free to comment or post on facebook.)

This contest is basically doing the same thing. Contestants are asked to submit videos of how they have or will incorporate the values of chesed (kindness), tzedakah (charity), and tikkun olam (social justice) in their rite of passage celebrations. The winning video will be posted on the Areyvut website. I like the idea and bet that there will be some interesting submissions.

The contest is open to grades 5 through ten and closes December 25th. See the Areyvut website for further details. Areyvut also has a database of over 200 Bnai Mitzvah mitzvah project ideas that can be incorporated into a Bnai Mitzvah celebration. This resource can be accessed here: Bnai Mitzvah mitzvah project ideas

If you are looking for a neat activity to do for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah that has both an element of fun and mitzvah, why not try a clothing swap? This idea has gained popularity due to the swap o rama rama type swaps where people bring clothing and then professional sewers, screen printers, embroiderers  and others volunteer their time to help people reconstruct clothing out of  pieces they wanted to throw away.

This could be a fun way for families to make some new clothing items for themselves, as well as for others. In addition, leftover clothing items can be donated to a local gamach or charity.

For instructions on how to set up a clothing swap visit the Future Craft Collective website for a  tutorial.