We are happy to have a guest post by artist Melanie Siegel. I met Melanie many years ago via The Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Textiles, Toronto. This post is about her program, Feel the Felt as part of Mitzvot Unplugged. Feel the Felt Feel the Felt is a program designed to teach students new techniques and instill in them values of chesed and informal l ...
Learning Programs for Bnei Mitzvah
This is a survey about what is out there for learning programs for Bnei Mitzvah. Most of the learning programs are geared towards bat mitzvah but some of the programs below are also for bar mitzvah. Do you have a program that isn't there? Please share in the comments below. Matan Bat Mitzvah Program This is probably the oldest of the programs. Matan h ...
Fun in Jerusalem Bar and Bat Mitzvah Guides
A useful resource for celebrating Bnai Mitzvah in Jerusalem- Fun in Jerusalem Bar and Bat Mitzvah Guides. Over the past year or so, Fun in Jerusalem has been expanding its resources for individuals who are interested in celebrating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah in Jerusalem. Fun in Jerusalem, is a site dedicated to fun things for families to do in Jerusalem. For ...
The Sports Rabbi’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah Experience
We are pleased to have the contribution of Rabbi Joshua Halickman for this year’s Mitzvot Unplugged about The Sports Rabbi’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah Experience. The Sports Rabbi’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah Experience A Bar and Bat Mitzvah is an opportunity to grow and learn about becoming Bnai Mitzvah, and being part of a larger story. It can also be an opportunity to ...
Pirkei Hallel – Review
This is a special review for Mitzvot Unplugged because I asked my 11 year old daughter to contribute to it. In large part, because as soon as I got Pirkei Hallel she stole it to read. Additionally, the book has themes that have been of great interest to her in the past few months. She agreed to write and agreed to write in English. She does not want to ...
Kesher Tefillin Creating Hands on Holiness in Daily Life
We are grateful to Rabbi Noah Greenberg for his guest post about Kesher Tefillin as part of this years Mitzvot Unplugged. Educators and parents are constantly striving to energize the bar/bat mitzvah experience. To give the budding Jew a Jewish purpose. Participating in Kesher Tefillin is transformative for its participants. It is a rich and powerfu ...
What do you do at a Bat Mitzvah Anyway?
This years Mitzvot Unplugged relates to Bar and Bat Mitzvah. I am taking the opportunity to discuss more general issues as well. “What do you do at a Bat Mitzvah anyway?” That is the question that my daughter asked me recently. We had been invited to two Bat Mitzvah celebrations that day. As my daughter is approaching the traditional age of accepting ...
Submissions for Mitzvot Unplugged Bnai Mitzvah
We are excited to be accepting submissions for the latest Mitzvot Unplugged Bnai Mitzvah edition. The Mitzvot Unplugged Series focuses on teaching our kids mitzvot in creative ways. The series takes place between Lag B'Omer and Shavuot. We are interested in guest posts that will help families teach their children Jewish values. Focus of Mitzvot Unpl ...
Comics to Teach Jewish Values
We have touched on the use of comics to teach Jewish values in Mitzvot Unplugged posts in the past. Aartist Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik uses comic books in his papercuts and in his workshops. Flora Rosefsky’s mentoree, Adam, created a Purim costume for a super hero, and we talked about one of my favorite comic books about Rabbi Arye Levin in another post. ...
A Letter to A Soldier
For Mitzvot Unplugged I wanted to include this letter to a soldier activity I put together for my daughter's English class. We have been blessed to have family come over the years to Israel for a “gap year”. In the last year or two we had a cousin learning in Kerem B’Yavneh and were lucky enough to have him and his friends as visitors. First I have ...