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Confirmation & Celebration! 

05/20/2022 11:07:27 AM

May20

Ora Cohen Rosenfeld

Around this time of year, very often on the holiday of Shavuot, young Jewish teens participate in a Confirmation in Reform and Conservative synagogues.  The Jewish Confirmation is a modern invention, which unlike the Bar Mitzvah (there was no Bat Mitzvah), does not have its root in ancient Jewish text.  Unlike B’nai Mitzvah, Confirmation is not centered on synagogue ritual, but rather a celebration of Jewish education and Jewish identity.  While 13 seems young for a child to take on the full responsibilities as a member of the Jewish community, Confirmation has become a lifecycle event marking a teens understanding of who they are as Jews through their years of study in Religious School.  The teens confirm that their Jewish identity is an important part of who they are.  Confirmation happens usually in 10th grade.  The curriculum for the learning beyond B’nai Mitzvah is centered on how they relate to different issues in Judaism and how Judaism informs us about important issues. 


This Friday night, Cayla Cohen, Leo Moskowitz and Autumn Frank will celebrate their confirmation with family and friends.  We will have a chance to hear their thoughts about what being Jewish means to them.  Megan’s Muse has been an essential part of the CBE yearly Confirmation, highlighting the creativity and talents of the Confirmation students.  While in the past, Megan’s Muse was a competition, this year the work has been collaborative, with the students coming together to produce a piece of work that reflects their thoughts and ideas.  Thank you to the Berman Family for creating and sponsoring this important experience for our students, in memory of their daughter Megan.  Megan was a dynamic and creative young woman, and her life inspires our Confirmation students each year. 
Confirmation is also an opportunity for the students to study and create a connection with the synagogue rabbi.  This year Rabbi Aft, as interim rabbi, studied with the students each week and they could not have had a greater role model for how to be a thoughtful and caring Jew in the modern world.  We would like to thank Rabbi Aft for all he has given the teens in the confirmation class, the children in our Religious School and preschool.  These children are the future of the Jewish community and Rabbi Aft engaged them with respect, humor and some wonderful stories.  


We have one more day of Religious School on Sunday and, in addition to the classroom celebrations, our students, families and community are invited to celebrate the arrival of summer. I hope you will join us for all the fun, as we wrap up another year of learning. 

Fri, March 29 2024 19 Adar II 5784