Cantor Barbra officiates at hotels, catering halls, entertainment venues, restaurants, your living room or backyard. Each service is creative, unique, and personable connecting to one’s cultural heritage. She will assist you with a ceremony that expresses your unique identities and cultural background. Cantor Barbra creates the atmosphere of a synagogue sanctuary with a Torah ark and table-top lecterns that both match the decor of her Torah cover. In addition, she supplies a state of the art wireless sound system with body microphones that is monitored throughout the entire service. Beautiful Jewish music is played upon entry into the room as well as the end of the service.
The Bar/Bat Mitzvah service is approximately one hour long with a liturgy based on the Reform service. It includes Hebrew prayers and English readings along with guest participation. The service is traditionally broken down into three parts which we will discuss below: the opening portion, the Torah Reading, and the conclusion.
Cantor Barbra officiates at Erev (the night before) Shabbat, Shabbat morning, Havdalah (Saturday night), Sunday, and even during the weekday. Each service is unique in that it is personalized and customized according to the family’s desires and what their child is capable of doing.
Bar/Bat-Mitzvah service does not have to be held in a traditional synagogue setting. However, there are certain requirements that need to be met, and Cantor Barbra does so by creating a holy space with her Torah, Torah ark, and bimah setup.
The service opens up with Hinei Mah Tov, a familiar Jewish folk tune that reminds us how good and pleasant it is for everyone to be celebrating this most special occasion. Your child will be presented with their tallit (ritual prayer shawl) by a family member or friend that you assign ahead of time.. The Bar/Bat Mitzvah student continues to lead the service with Hebrew prayers and English readings that the guests are invited to read together. For our students who don’t read Hebrew, we teach them the transliterations so they can read the English sounds of the Hebrew text. We conclude the first part of the service with Oseh Shalom, a song about peace for the world, Israel, and for within ourselves.
The next part of the service includes the Torah service where we pass the Torah down from generation to generation. Your child will have the opportunity to chant up to 3 short passages (aliyot) from the Torah followed by the D’var Torah (speech) about the Torah portion.
The parents speak to their child from the heart,and about their hopes and aspirations for their child as they begin this journey to Jewish adulthood.
At the end of the Torah service, Cantor Barbra speaks to the child and presents them with traditional gifts and a Bar/Bat-Mitzvah certificate. She then calls the family up to the bima to hold a tallit above the Bar/Bat Mitzvah like a chuppah (a cover/shelter of peace) as she chants the ancient words of the Priestly Blessing. This concluding part of the service includes English readings by the grandparents or any member of the family who wish to participate, the Mourner’s Kaddish (in memory of loved ones no longer with us), prayers over the wine and challah, and a concluding song. If you opt for a Havdalah service, (Saturday evening), the service concludes with Havdalah, which is blessings over the wine, spices, and the Havdalah candle followed by good wishes for the new week.
Cantor Barbra wants your child to have a positive experience learning about the meaning of being Jewish, Jewish lifecycle rituals, Bible stories, and the rich history of our people.
In addition, we teach your child to learn to read Hebrew, chant prayers from our liturgy, and a small section from the Torah.
