SD (age 12) and I just scheduled our Passport to Purity "weekend" (which will be a Monday/Tuesday instead). She's thrilled, I'm a little nervous. We had given her mother first opportunity to go with her but she's just not interested. If there ever were two people who were so opposite, it would be SD and I! She's a girly girl, I never was. She's sensitive (both emotionally and physically) and I never have been. She whines, I can't stand it. LOL I love her dearly, but I just don't get her at all. So I'm a little nervous about our weekend together.

When DD and I did our PTP weekend last fall, we had a great time. It was so easy to put together for her and it went so well! Even when my jeans ripped at the inside seam while we were horseback riding *blush* we were both able to laugh at it and laugh at my walking through the mall with "holy" jeans looking to find some new pants in a quick hurry. LOL SD wouldn't handle that situation very well. (mental note - make sure I wear clothes that aren't worn out...) The material to cover is not a problem for me, which is a relief. We've discussed modesty and hormones and boys and "stuff" with our kids at age appropriate levels for years. So this won't cover any new territory but it'll be a good event to cement the teachings in a little more - the activities really help illustrate the points so well!

Passport to Purity is a blast of a weekend and both DH and I would highly recommend it to anyone. I think I'm just unsure of what to plan for SD - she wants to go shopping. Huh? I don't do that - I buy my clothes from the local feed store! LOL It'll be quite a stretch for me! Talk about a "labor of love". Any suggestion would be great! I need cheap and girly suggestions that even a tom-boy could pull off. LOL

Now for our newest venture - DD's Bat Mitzvah! We don't have a date planned yet as we're not going to do it on her birthday (unless we hold out till next May). She'll be the first, even though there are two older boys. I think that we'll put it out to our kids that they can choose to have theirs at their birthdays or at one of the three festivals: during Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, or Sukkot. I think these are perfect times to publicly announce their commitment to HaShem and acknowledge their accountability to Him. We may include a baptism in the whole event. One focus will be the child's acknowledgement of their personal responsibility before YHVH to obey Him and to take ownership of their faith in Him, but another focus will be a welcoming into adulthood. For the girls we'll give them hope chests. We're stumped as to what to give the boys as they prepare to be the leaders of their homes and priests of their families.

DD and another girl at our congregation may be doing their Bat Mitzvah's near the same time. They are friends and her mother and I were talking about it this Shabbat. They want to do the same thing and encourage other children in our congregation to do the same.

DD is studying about Bat Mitzvah's right now and as soon as she's finished with the books she's reading I'll get to read them too and we'll come up with a plan. I'm excited. :~) I think it'll get the older boys excited too and they'll want to have their Bar Mitzvah's at the next holiday, but they will have some studying to do before they can have theirs.

Any suggestions or thoughts on the Bar Mitzvah gift item for boys or ideas for the Bar/Bat Mitzvahs would be great too! Nobody in our congregation has experienced one (not even the Jewish couples - if they have they haven't bothered to say so) and we're not going by the Jewish tradition on this either. We're going to take from the tradition and make a new tradition for our family - one that our congregation might adopt for the whole community as well. Time will tell....

Posted by mijubrifarms

What a blessing. Our DD will be 16 in a few weeks and, while I was hoping this would be the year of her Bat, things haven't worked out. She was studying and then we had to change shuls, and they're a bit more "christian" . Needless to say, no one there has even seen a Bat/Bar, let alone had one. Maybe we'll lead the way.

I do like the idea of incorporating a Mikvah; I would do it the eve before in preparation. As for gifts, I like the idea of a hope chest for you DD (don't forget the candle sticks). I've had the same dilema -- what to get for DS. Here's some ideas we came up with.

(1) Tallit - This is the traditional gift as this is when a young man is recognized as an "adult" and can now serve at the Bimah. This is when he should now be covered in his own Tallit, and is also removed from his father's covering during the Aaronic blessing (since he now has his own).

(2) Hope Foot Locker - It may sound funny, but my DS thinks it sounds fun. Buy a nice big sturdy foot locker (or tool chest) and begin to fill it with thing he will need to start a home: hand tools, power tools, car accessories, how-to books, even small coffee pots or household items should they end up spending some years as a bachelor. We got our son a set of socket wrenches for Hannukah last year, and he has a small coffee pot as well. He is quite enjoying getting these items.

(3) Books to start their home library - Siddurs, Interlinear Bibles, Parkeit Avos, Portions of Talmud all will serve them well in their learning as they grow and in their teaching as husbands and fathers.

Okay, this is now a blog entry instead of a comment, so it's time to go. Besides, it's almost sundown where I'm at. Good Shabbos to you sister.

G-d Bless,
Julie