Dear Friends,

 

In this newsletter we focus on the recent Bat Mitzvah celebrations of two young women who have participated in the Gateways B'nei Mitzvah Program. I have always felt that, in many ways, this program is the emotional core of what we do. Gateways is all about accessing Jewish education, not simply as a collection of information that children acquire, but as a joyous way of life that they experience. When a child faces obstacles in her physical, intellectual, and/or emotional growth, her family may feel that they need to give up their dream of observing traditional milestones. I believe that the B'nei Mitzvah Program gives them back that dream. We understand that each child is unique, and that they are members of families and communities that reflect the diversity of Judaism today. Gateways supports that diversity while enabling each child, family, and the larger community to come together in a proud and joyous gathering that celebrates the possible.

 

Wishing you a wonderful summer,

 

Arlene Remz

Executive Director

 

Table of Contents

 - Featured Stories

 - Bat Mitzvah Grant
 - Bat Mitzvah Resources

 - Announcements

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"When other kids get up and say the blessings at their bar or bat mitzvah, it's pretty easy for them. But Helena must have practiced the brachas thousands of times over the last couple of years. And she did them perfectly. It's just that most people who heard her could not have known how much went into it. If they did, they would have seen it for what it really was. It really was a triumph." - Michelle Gary, Helena's tutor

 

On May 5, the Gateways community celebrated the Bat Mitzvah of a very special student. Rachel has brain damage from a stroke when she was a two-year-old. She can't speak or walk, and has uncontrolled seizures. Rachel has attended the Gateways Sunday Program for six years in preparation for her Bat Mitzvah, and though she might not have used words to say, she showed everyone that day how much her Jewish learning meant to her.

"In our society, when faced with tragedy and disability, kids like my kid can become much like the tzitzit on a tallis, fringes around the edges of our society. By being here today, singing with us, praying with us, in the same way as the tallis itself has fringes and fabric woven together, we're all woven together in celebration."

                      -Frank Murphy, Rachel's father

 

Gateways has been awarded a first-time one-year grant from the Boston Jewish Community Women's Fund for our project, "A Special Path to Bat Mitzvah."

   

Gateways adapted the biography of Judith Kaplan Einstein from the Jewish Women's Archive website for use by a student who "reads" with picture symbols and developed an accompanying worksheet with words and picture symbols.

This multiple choice worksheet helps a student process and express her feelings about her Bat Mitzvah, and can be used to guide a discussion about those feelings. Presented in words and picture symbols, this worksheet is accessible to students who are non-readers and/or non-verbal.

This guide includes a visual representation of the order of the service, an explanation of each part of the service, and an explanation of rituals surrounding the Torah. Producing a clear and simple service guide like this one and including it in the program at a child's Bat Mitzvah can make the service inclusive of everyone in attendance. This example was created for Rachel Murphy's Bat Mitzvah.

This Bat Mitzvah vocabulary sheet features picture symbols with short and clear explanations of some Bat Mitzvah basics: mitzvah, tallit, ark, kippah/yamulka, bimah, and more. This particular sheet was created for Rachel Murphy, who comes from an interfaith family, and was distributed with the program at her Bat Mitzvah service. It is an excellent tool to make a Bat Mitzvah service inclusive.