Bar and Bat Mitzvah Trips to Israel: Variations on a Theme of Affirmation


 

Publication Date: January 2000

Publisher: Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education

Author(s): Lisa D. Grant

Research Area: Culture and religion; Education

Keywords: American Jews; Israel experience; Jewish identification

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This article examines the motivation for and the impact of family trips to Israel during the year the child becomes bar or bat-mitzvah. First, it situates this phenomenon in the broad context of American Jewish life as a new variation on an old ritual; second, it describes how different families and different kinds of trips enact the ritual itself and how the bar/bat-mitzvah fits within the overall structure of their Israel trips.