Bat Mitzvah Firsts Project 
Moving Traditions Seeks Stories of Bat Mitzvah "Firsts"
Bat Mitzvah Firsts Project Launched

 Bat Mitzvah Firsts Project

Moving Traditions is examining the introduction and spread of the bat mitzvah ceremony to learn how American Jewish life changes over time.

Eighty-five years ago, Judith Kaplan became the first American bat mitzvah at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, in New York City.

Today, the bat mitzvah is standard practice in Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform congregations; it is becoming increasingly common in Modern Orthodox communities as well.

At Moving Traditions, our mandate is to use gender as a framework in our consideration of how to help men, women, boys, and girls become more engaged and involved with Judaism.

We are interested in the rapid evolution of the bat mitzvah in American Jewish life because it seems to suggest possibilities for how we might think intentionally about implementing change of other kinds in Jewish life. What would it take, for example, for young girls' participation in a monthly Rosh Hodesh group to be as expected as their studying to become bat mitzvah?  With questions like this in mind, we have undertaken a Bat Mitzvah Firsts Project. We believe that collecting and analyzing stories of bat mitzvah innovations will provide insight into the dynamics of change in American Jewish life.

 Moving Traditions Seeks Stories of Bat Mitzvah “Firsts”

Women who participated in this Jewish ritual as a "first" now range in age from 13 to 90. We are looking for these unrecorded changemakers to tell their stories so we can record them for posterity.

Did you or someone you know have a first of its kind bat mitzvah at your congregation? If your bat mitzvah broke new ground in some way – were you the first on a Friday night, the first on Shabbat morning, or the first to read from the Torah? – then we want to hear your story.

Please take a minute tell your story, by filling out Moving Traditions’ quick and easy "Bat Mitzvah Firsts" survey. Click here to participate in our survey. Your story (however modest) will add richness to our understanding of how change is made in Jewish life.

Do you know someone who was a “first”? Please help us by sending her this survey link. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=qHkvcFYBZsx2f1_2fDrzK3dA_3d_3d. so that we can collect as many stories as possible.

Please forward this information to anyone who you think may be helpful in finding the first in your community and feel free to contact Bat Mitzvah Firsts Project Consultant, Rabbi Deborah Glanzberg-Krainin, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss the project or your story.

 Bat Mitzvah Firsts Project Launched

On December 9, 2007, Moving Traditions launched the Bat Mitzvah Firsts project at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism (SAJ), site of the first bat mitzvah in the United States in 1922, to record the introduction and evolution of the ceremony as a means of understanding how Jewish tradition changes. The project was launched with a celebratory Hallel service led by women who had a first bat mitzvah in their communities.

“We get so used to the way things are today that we forget that Judaism is always evolving. Take the bat mitzvah – it was only 85 years ago that the first bat mitzvah was held in the United States. It was a radical act coming only two years after women received the right to vote in the United States! Today, our sons and daughters can’t believe that their grandmothers could not become bat mitzvah,” said Sally Gottesman, Moving Traditions Co-founder and Board Chair.

“We want to understand how Jewish tradition evolves so we can help Judaism continue to evolve to meet the needs of Jews today,” Gottesman said.

Moving Traditions is collecting the stories of the girls, parents and clergy who broke new ground and pioneered this innovation – thereby changing Jewish life in every community in North America. A dozen bat mitzvah firsts have been identified including Ruth Messinger, President of American Jewish World Service, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, noted author, and Judith Ginsberg, Executive Director of the Nash Family Foundation. Moving Traditions intends to collect at least 85 stories, one for each year since the ritual was first celebrated by Judith Kaplan in 1922 at SAJ.

“My bat mitzvah on Chanukah, November 30, 1956 taught me that I was equal, important, and responsible,” said Carol Anshien. “Being the first in my Conservative synagogue gave me a sense of being someone who could challenge barriers and break through old ways, even though it was held on a Friday night.”

Bat mitzvah spread slowly. In most cases it was introduced on Friday nights, with girls chanting haftorah, the prophetic teachings, while boys chanted both torah and haftorah on Saturdays. Ultimately, in Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist congregations girls were allowed to become bat mitzvah on Saturday mornings, including chanting torah. Orthodox communities have also adopted bat mitzvah.

Given the evolution of the ceremony, there are many girls and women who were firsts – the first to have a Friday bat mitzvah, the first to chant torah, the first to lead services, etc.
To learn more about the launch of the project at Moving Traditions' annual benefit on December 9, 2007, read an article in the New York Jewish Week, Stumbling Through My Bat Mitzvah.