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1. It is anticipated that candidates for Bar/Bat Mitzvah will be the members of KKBE.
2. Candidates in the greater Charleston area will be considered for Bar/Bat Mitzvah candidacy only if they have been enrolled in the KKBE Religious School a minimum of three consecutive years immediately prior to their 13th year. Exceptions may be made for those students who have moved to Charleston within the three year period or who reside at a great distance and who have been otherwise prepared.
3. Hebrew language instruction is to be obtained preferably in the classes of the Community Hebrew School. A minimum of two years attendance in these classes is required starting in the 4th grade. KKBE offers basic Hebrew classes on Sunday mornings prior to Religious School. But this course of study requires a minimum of three years attendance.
4. The ceremony is to take place in the synagogue on either a Friday evening or a Saturday morning as the family chooses. The date would be a convenient Sabbath following the young person's 13th birthday. Extensions are possible and sometimes advisable, but mid-summer ceremonies are to be avoided.
5. The date is to be submitted first to the Temple office, which in turn will clear it with the Rabbi and the Jewish Community Center. It is the custom, at KKBE, for the entire Congregation to be invited and welcomed at every Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony and Oneg Shabbat/Kiddush.
6. During the year prior to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony, instruction will be under the direct supervision of the Rabbi, who will assign the specific parts of the service and the Scriptural portions.
7. Several weeks after the student has begun to study with the Rabbi, s/he will be expected to choose a Mitzvah project to be completed during the year. A report on their Mitzvah Project will be part of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony.
8. Students are to be in frequent attendance at Sabbath services, and during the year prior to the celebration are to be present a minimum of 26 Shabbat services.
9. Bar/Bat Mitzvah in no way constitutes graduation from Religious School, and all B'nai Mitzvah are expected to continue to be enrolled in the Religious School through Confirmation. Confirmation takes place at graduation from the 10th grade. In Reform Judaism, Bar/Bat Mitzvah is not a substitute for Confirmation, and in fact Confirmation is considered the more important of the two rituals. The young person is more mature and more understanding of Judaism at the age of 15 or 16 than at 13. Parents and candidates are to sign a form that commits the young person to continue Religious School studies through Confirmation.
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