Bat and Bar Mitzvah students at Sinai begin their studies a full year before their thirteenth birthday. During the sixth grade year, Rabbi Cohen and Cantor Robins conduct three family education sessions, focusing on the meaning of becoming a bar/bat mitzvah, the mitzvah of Tzedakah in the life a Jewish adult, and the family's spiritual journey as they approach the time of bar/bat Mitzvah. A year out, students meet with Rabbi Cohen for three individual sessions to learn about their Torah portions and pick the section to read. They meet with the cantor and a bar/bat mitzvah tutor on a weekly basis. Two months before, students begin four sessions during which they write a D'var Torah, or speech. Throughout, families are in touch with our Program Coordinator, Jen Friedman, who gently guides them through the myriad logistical details of celebrating a bar/bat mitzvah at Sinai. All in all, it's an intense experience for the family, the student and for the cantor and rabbi. And it can be for you, should you ever want to come. The Shabbat services are not private, but for the community. Mazal Tov!