Instruction at the Shul

All Bat/Bar Mitzvah students must receive appropriate instruction to prepare for the Hebrew material that will be recited on the actual Bar/Bat Mitzvah day. To assist with this, the Congregation has engaged a Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutor to provide one on one instruction.

Parents should contact the shul tutor 12 to 18 months prior to the Bat/Bar Mitzvah in order for the family and tutor to assess the tutoring needs and agree on a start date. Payment for Bar/Bat Mitzvah lessons is made directly to the Congregation for the lessons. An educational tax receipt will be issued for the amount paid.

The shul tutor, Sabrina Friedman, can be reached through the Narayever office at 416.927.0546.

A family may use someone other than the shul’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutor only if the Rabbi approves of the alternative arrangement. Administrative processing and the issuance of receipts by the shul is only done for families who engage the shul’s tutor.

Bat/Bar Mitzvah Class

All Bar/Bat Mitzvah students are required to attend the shul’s Bat/Bar Mitzvah Class during the year prior to their simcha. Rabbi Elkin and Carly Prusky (Director of Family and Youth Engagement and Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program Coordinator) co-facilitate this dynamic program, designed to provide opportunities to learn, have interesting discussions, and develop a shul chevra. In early June, at the beginning of the summer prior to the start of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah program, an information package is provided to all parents/guardians and incoming students with all necessary information about the course. Then, in our first class, all students and parents/guardians participate in a full orientation to the course. The Bat/Bar Mitzvah class schedule follows the school year calendar, running September through May. Any questions regarding the class can be directed to carly@narayever.ca. 

Shul Attendance

Bar/Bat Mitzvah students and their families are expected to attend Shabbat/Erev Shabbat Services at the Narayever to become comfortable and familiar with the service and the Narayever Chevra. In the two years preceding their Bat/Bar Mitzvah students are required to attend eighteen Shabbat/ Erev Shabbat services at the First Narayever as a minimum. It is strongly suggested that a significant portion of shul attendance occur on Shabbat morning, so that Bat/Bar Mitzvah students are aware of the procedures associated with the morning of their simcha.