Ascending To The Summit 0f Mitzvot

Ascending To The Summit 0f Mitzvot

In the previous blog I told you about a marvelous way of turning your child's Bar Mitzvah journey into a unique one. This path allows one to visit the ever-changing world of inner values that your child may have or have crossed paths with.

I promised that in this blog I would show several examples of this unique journey that you may use with your own child's path during this coming of age.

For example, we will choose the value of friendship or heroism. We will be able to see how a child is creating a role model by choosing a certain hero/heroine through a historical story or historical site. Every substantial character in history has their own act of heroism that made them famous. The child gets to choose the character or location and the aspect that they want to study more in-depth, such as myths, tours of the area, documentaries or family-history regarding that site.

After that, the child will pick the method of presenting the information:

First, they will think about the audience, "To whom am I presenting?" To guests in a party, family members or to my classmates, etc.

In the next step, the child will think of the medium they want to use – a film, creating a guide, power point presentation, a photo exhibition etc.

Here are a few suggested steps to prepare for such an activity:

-       creating a guideline

-       gathering material according to the relevant audience

-       building a schedule

-       come up with entertaining / fun activities

-       document the experience (video, photos or writing)

-       combine the activity with the main idea of the whole year and pair it with the presentation in the end-of-the-year celebration.

This activity must combine the child's inner world and the values in society.  Of course we can't forget to make it fun and enjoyable!

I did a similar activity with my daughter at The Castel cite in Mevaseret Zion, next to her birthplace and where a family member had fallen in battle. She studied the story in-depth, toured the site, planned an activity that combined a sports activity and interactive guided-tour that was suited for her teen cousins.

The activity was unique, she made shirts and hats with a logo and when she guided them she filmed the entire thing and used the photos to build a power-point presentation that she used (at school) at the end of the year to show her own journey throughout the year.

You can do a fun activity that is still filled with actual values. For example – family: for my daughter's activity we invited her uncles and aunts and they got to know each other in a very different and entertaining manner – hosting an event of stand-up, family stories and jokes and not to forget the social gathering aspect in itself really brings people together.

The possibilities are endless as each child has their own unique taste, likes and strengths that they can use to create such an activity.  Of course, the parents may need to invest some time and effort while helping their child take the first steps in this life-changing path into adulthood.