Bat mitzva

After an Iranian missile shattered homes, Beit Shemesh residents learn to live in limbo

Over 1,000 displaced people from Beit Shemesh were relocated to several hotels across Jerusalem, where they now attempt to piece together fragments of routine amid trauma.

At the scene where an Iranian ballistic missile struck Beit Shemesh, causing extensive destruction and fatalities, March 1.
Daughters of widows celebrate their bat-mitzvah at Chabad’s annual 22 Shevat event

In Jerusalem, a Bat Mitzvah celebration honors fatherless girls – and a long-term promise

Soldiers praying at the Kotel in 2013.

'I never had a bar mitzvah,' lone soldiers from Ethiopia to celebrate at the Western Wall

An IDF orphan, wearing a beret from the Nachal Brigade, celebrating his bar mitzvah at the Kotel in Jerusalem, October 20, 2025.

Forty-eight IDF orphans mark bnei mitzvah at Western Wall


Twitter hashtag celebrates its bat mitzvah

On August 23, 2007, when Twitter user Chris Messina tweeted a suggestion to use the # symbol to group conversations on the micro-tweeting platform, hashtags were born.

People holding mobile phones are silhouetted against a backdrop projected with the Twitter logo in this illustration picture taken September 27, 2013.

Unaffiliated youth inspired on bar/bat mitzvah trip to Israel

Unaffiliated Jewish youth were treated to a special tour of Israel to mark their bar and bat mitzvah birthdays, marking their journey into adulthood.

Bat mitzvah age girls decorate Shabbat candlestick holders during the Rabbinical Center of Europe trip to Israel, March 2019

A second bar mitzvah

Life lessons passed down from generation to generation.

A second bar mitzvah is a rare and special simcha

Victims of terror come of age

The event was moderated by supermodel Esti Ginzburg, who told the young boys and girls never to give up on following their dreams.

Rivlin hosted a  bar- and batmitzvah event for children of families affected in terrorist attacks.

This teen had a gender neutral b’nei mitzvah

As transgender and gender nonconforming people gain more acceptance, synagogues are having to think about how to welcome those with a diverse set of gender identities.

Torah scroll

The oldest ever Birthright participant

Instagram celebrity CrazyJewishMom - and her daughter - just wrapped up an unforgettable trip around Israel.

Kim Friedman, age 68, and her daughter Kate Siegel (center) participates in Birthright amongst much younger peers.

Couple sues NYC hotel for ‘starving’ the guests at daughter’s bat mitzva

Without enough food, party goers resorted to desperate measures.

A fancy party. (illustrative)

At Western Wall, Holocaust survivors finally celebrate their b'nei mitzva

45 men and women from the former Soviet Union belatedly mark the Jewish milestone in Jerusalem.

Holocaust survivors celebrate their bnei mitzvot at the Western Wall, November 2017

Agreeing to disagree: The value of religious doubt

It was clear that some of the bride’s still-religious family really had to hold back their judgment as the wedding party danced down the aisle to the music of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”.

A couple stands underneath a ‘huppa’ during their secular wedding ceremony in Tel Aviv.

Making special events more memorable

Celebrating your special day in Israel is an experience you won’t regret.

The mother of the groom surprised this couple with a custom-made huppa