Product Description

An indispensable, modern-day guide to planning the perfect bar or bat mitzvah, celebrating substance and style

There used to be only two approaches to the bar or bat mitzvah party -- a low-key event that reflects the solemnity of this sacred rite of passage or a big bash that has no connection to the religious service. For many, it was an impossible dilemma. Will a big bash trivialize and overshadow the bar or bat mitzvah experience? Will too much spirituality suck the life out of an otherwise fabulous party?

MitzvahChic is the first book that proves that if you want a truly amazing experience, you can and must have it all! Blending meaningful Jewish elements with high-style contemporary party planning, this inspiring and useful guide will show you how to have the ultimate bar or bat mitzvah -- a profoundly moving service followed by an unforgettable party. The MitzvahChic approach also shows how to honor your child in a big way, rather than reducing him or her to an overused pop culture theme or a single cliché: He's into baseball! She loves horses!

This must-have guide gives advice on the major decisions, the basics of the service, and the party details that really matter. It also features:

• A complete guide to the Torah, including dates and summaries of the portions and supplementary materials
• Eight complete, themed parties, including party favors, decorations, and photographs of sample tables
• A time line to help plan the bar or bat mitzvah up to two years ahead
• Instructions for being MitzvahChic on a budget
• Advice on how to include non-Jewish friends and family members in the ceremony

A practical guide to all things mitzvah from the Torah to the tablecloth, MitzvahChic will help create a beautiful, powerful, resonant, and unforgettable rite of passage.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #214063 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review
...Just the right mix of serious content and entertainment tips. Any family will be helped by reading it! -- Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

MitzvahChic is fun, refreshing, insightful and original...Judaism has never seemed so cool. -- Sam Raimi, director (Spider-Man, A Simple Plan), producer and screenwriter

…shows how to make bar and bat mitzvah celebrations more Jewish and joyful. Even the bar can become a mitzvah! -- Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin, author of Putting God on the Guest List and The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Memory Book

Review
"More than a plan book to create one perfect Jewish day, it's a lens through which the ancient ideas of Torah look modern and poetic. . . . Judaism has never seemed so cool."-- Sam Raimi, director, producer, and screenwriter

"Just the right mix of serious content and entertainment tips. Any family will be helped by reading it!"-- Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Customer Reviews

AMAZING!
Five stars are not enough - Fifty stars would be more fitting! We are 3+ years away from my oldest daughters bat mitzvah. I've been dreading this time mainly because of the meaningless and costly party that I felt compelled to throw for the occassion. While I am not at all religious, I do have strong feelings for Jewish tradition, culture and history, and wanted the bat mitzvah to have meaning and not be just another over the top theme party.

Mitzvahchic is packed with ideas from centerpieces to mitzvah ideas. I felt such relief in finally finding someone who shared my opinions with long uncomfortable candlelighting ceremonies and the never ending video montage! Were you aware the candlelighting ceremony has no religious basis but was created by a caterer to liven up the party?! Gail Greenberg is chockful of ideas to include these elements but in a way which is meaningful and truly honors those who are meant to be honored.

If you are in the market for a new approach to your bar/bat mitzvah get this book. You will be overjoyed. Gail Greenberg will become your new best friend. In response to the one reviewer who gave the book one star - it's obvious this was not someone who was looking for a new approach or someone looking to keep mitzvah in the occassion. Party planners plan parties. They don't bring mitzvah or meaning as that's for you to do!

Order this book NOW. You won't be sorry!!

Refreshing, insightful guide to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah!
This book provides an inspiring, fresh look at the Bar/Bat Mitzvah process, which comforts, encourages, enlightens and informs in a concise and witty style. Her tone is conversational and very funny, yet the book is rich, intelligent and full of practical suggestions that can be used either as given or as a springboard for your own ideas. The author feels like your new best friend as you embark on this overwhelming feat of pulling off an American-style Bar/Bat Mitzvah without completely losing sight of it's deeper meaning. In addition to talking you through the whole process--from choosing a date to finding meaning in your Torah portion to designing a beautiful party that reflects this meaning--it provides many lists and charts and a timeline, all of which are extremely practical and easy to use. There are many money-saving tips as well...but the real strength and uniqueness of this book is that it revives an emphasis on the deeper meaning of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and takes that meaning well into the party. Beautiful photos, wonderful and artistic touches, clear and concise instructions. Her website does not seem to be "live" yet--I think the book was newly published at the time I'm writing this--but it looks like it will be a fantastic resource for information and products. I wish this book had been around when we first started planning my daughter's Bat Mitzvah, which is only a couple of months away.....!

Absolutely essential!
I'm so sorry that another reviewer didn't find this book helpful, because to me it was essential. It was the first B'nai Mitzvah book I bought and I was so glad I did. It opened my eyes to a lot of options that I wasn't aware of, and will, in the end, make our Bat Mitzvah so much more meaningful. I was unaware that you could select your mitzvah date based on Torah parsha. When I was younger, you were just given a date close to your birthday. The author of this book categorizes and explains each Torah portion for you. After reading them, I handed the book over to my daughter and said, "Find something that is meaningful to you." She read each section and picked one that she connected most with. We let her select her Bat Mitzvah date, and as a result, she is more aware and involved than most kids are at this point, and we are still at the very beginning of planning. She intends to carry the theme of her parsha into her mitzvah project, her D'var Torah, and her party. Did you know that you could twin with a child of the holocaust and honor him/her at your child's B'nai Mitzvah? Did you know that you could support a Jewish family in Ethiopia for one month, just by buying a tallit bag that they embroider? This is the kind of thing that is detailed in this book. Be forewarned: although this book does touch (briefly) on day vs. night affairs and selecting a venue, this is not a "how to make a hockey stick entrance way for my kid's hockey-theme Bar Mitzvah" book. MitzvahChic transcends that and looks deeper into the messages of the ceremony and how it fits in with your child's jewish coming-of-age. It then takes those messages and ultimately carries them through to themes and centerpieces, etc. for the party. Our copy of MitzvahChic has been lovingly highlighted, dog-eared and is always close at hand. I am so glad I found this valuable resource and feel that although we still have some time to go, that this book has already elevated my daughter's Bat Mitzvah into something very special.