As Bat Mitzvahs Turn 100 In America, New Jersey Rabbis Share Stories – Patch

NORTH JERSEY — If you’ve seen people posting their old bat mitzvah photos and videos on Facebook this week, there’s a reason. The practice of bar mitzvahs for girls in America turned 100 years old on Friday — and rabbis around New Jersey have been explaining the significance of the anniversary and how the first bat mitzvah was an important step forward for women.

The first girl to have the female version of the traditionally male ceremony in America — a religious coming-of-age ceremony and celebration of Jewish identity — was Judith Kaplan, in New York City on March 18, 1922, notes the Jewish Women’s Archive.

Judith, who lived from 1909-1996, was the oldest of four daughters of Lena and Rabbi Mordecai Menachem Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism.

This coming Friday, one Essex County synagogue, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun on South Orange Avenue in Short Hills, will salute Kaplan with a special Shabbat Service. It includes a performance by Dylan Tanzer, an actor who has portrayed Kaplan’s journey to her first bar mitzvah via @judithKaplan1922 on Instagram. Details of that event are here.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Rachel Marder of South Orange spoke on Monday about the significance of the ceremony and what Kaplan’s ceremony was like.

“It was a start,” Marder said, “the first step in a very long journey toward women’s equal participation in Jewish ritual.”

But why is it important to mark such an occasion?

It’s important to be reminded of what women have fought for, lost and gained, said one local rabbi.

In a story for the Jewish Telegraph Agency, Rabbi Karen Perolman of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills said, “We almost can’t imagine a world without bat mitzvah. And yet I think there’s a risk of taking it for granted … We should know the story of Judith Kaplan.”

In Westfield, a temple asked local women of all ages to reflect on their bat mitzvahs for a video.

In the video, Rabbi Ellen Lewis says, “This is a story I haven’t told in a long time … I used to walk from Washington School and go to Temple for midweek Hebrew. Children in Westfield would throw things and call me names because I was Jewish.”

For a while, she stopped going to Hebrew School. But she eventually returned and had a bat mitzvah — at 26.

Preparing for the ceremony teaches much more than religion, says another woman in the video.

“I’ve never prepared so much for anything in my life, ” says Andrea Stagg. “I think it made me realize that with the right mentors and teachers and preparation, I can do anything.”