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A new program for pre-Bat Mitzvah girls and their mothers
This program is an opportunity for mothers and daughters to explore the transition of becoming Bat Mitzvah. Moms and girls will study together and separately, create a personal ritual, and learn about mikveh in historical and contemporary settings.
| Dates: |
Sessions will take place on the following Sundays:
October 26, November 9, November 23, December 7 |
| Time: |
4:00pm – 6:00pm |
| Location: |
Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Paula Brody & Family Education Center, 1838 Washington Street, Newton, Massachusetts (map ») |
| Registration deadline: |
October 6, 2008 |
| Participation Fee: |
$108 per family for four sessions; immersions additional.
Scholarships are available; please contact Lisa Berman for more information. |
Participant
Requirements: |
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Girls in sixth or seventh grade |
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Girls to be accompanied by a mother or other significant adult woman |
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Groups will be limited to 10-15 pairs; groups of friends and classmates are encouraged to attend together |
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For more information
or to register: |
Lisa Berman, Education Center Director
617-244-1836 ext. 205
LisaB@MayyimHayyim.org |
Program Description
The Daughters Group offers girls a place to explore what it means to be Jewish, to become a Bat Mitzvah, and to become a (Jewish) woman. The peer groups will be facilitated by a rabbinical student and a graduate student -- young women who are learned and very familiar with Mayyim Hayyim.
The Mothers Group will give the women a chance to learn how Jewish tradition, practice, and values can help them raise more resilient daughters in the 21st century. These groups will be facilitated by Penina Adelman, M.A., M.S.W. who is also the curriculum consultant for the entire program. Penina writes and speaks about women and spirituality, women in the Bible, and women as myth-makers and creators of ritual. She recently co-authored The JGirl's Guide: The Young Jewish Woman's Handbook for Coming of Age. Her first book, Miriam's Well, helped launch the Rosh Hodesh (Jewish New Moon festival) movement. As a social worker for over 20 years, she has run support and activity groups for the mothers of Bat Mitzvah girls.
Session Details
| Session One |
Coming of Age Rites Around the World
Theme: Bat Mitzvah is discussed in a cross-cultural context.
Daughters: Discussion of what makes something a ritual, using contemporary rituals from around the world as examples.
Mothers: Discussion of their own coming of age experiences, their own bat mitzvah experiences (or lack thereof), what they would like to do differently for their daughters. |
| Session Two |
Mikveh and Mayyim Hayyim
Theme: Basics of mikveh in Judaism – what is it, how it is practiced, what it has meant throughout Jewish history, its significance today.
• Tour of Mayyim Hayyim.
• Discussion of contemporary uses of mikveh.
Daughters: Activities will include a discussion of what a mikveh is, a chance for participants to design their own mikveh, a tour of Mayyim Hayyim.
Mothers: Learn about the ritual of mikveh, including a discussion of their preconceived notions about the use of mikveh, and will tour Mayyim Hayyim’s facility.
Together: Mothers and daughters will go on a “scavenger hunt” to explore Mayyim Hayyim. |
| Session Three |
Creation of Ritual
Instructors will use a text study to frame a discussion between mothers and daughters about this unique time and shared experience, including the blessings, gifts, and learning that they have given each other.
In a joint session, mothers and daughters will learn how to create their transition rituals with facilitation from program staff, using the things they have learned in previous sessions as inspirations and weaving in personal elements. |
| Session Four |
Siyyum (Conclusion)
The fourth session will provide mother-daughter pairs a chance to enact the rituals they created in the third session. It will also be an opportunity to review the previous sessions, study together, eat, sing, and celebrate.
Mothers and daughters are welcome to immerse at a later date in preparation for their family’s Bat Mitzvah celebration, but it will not be a part of the Beneath the Surface experience. |
For more information or to register:
Please contact Lisa Berman, Education Center Director
at 617-244-1836 ext. 205 or LisaB@MayyimHayyim.org
http://www.hadassahfoundation.org
The Hadassah Foundation has provided generous support
for the creation and implementation of the Beneath the Surface
Project.
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