Wilderness Torah B’mitzvah

Wilderness Torah is thrilled to offer a unique Earth based B’mitzvah program that weaves ancient Jewish wisdom with the rhythms of nature. This B’mitzvah track can stand beautifully on its own for families seeking a youth-centered, Earth-honoring ritual, or serve as a powerful complement to our two year rite-of-passage journey, B’naiture. Guided by experienced Wilderness Torah mentors, Rabbis, and prayer leaders, youth receive personalized tutoring and soulful support, culminating in a handcrafted B’mitzvah ceremony that reflects their learning, identity, and relationship with Jewish practice.

This track is for you if you:

  • Want to create your own custom B’mitzvah ceremony
  • Want flexibility in topics covered 
  • Want an individuated learning experience
  • Are seeking a ceremony outside of a congregation

Each B’mitzvah experience is unique, and we recognize that each adolescent comes with varied experience and familiarity with Judaism, Hebrew, and Jewish ceremony.

Our core offering consists of:

  • 20 hours of tutoring: See curriculum section below for more details.
  • Ceremony: Includes meetings to go over the ceremony itself, preparing an individuated prayer packet for the ceremony, full ceremony run through week-of the event, plus Wilderness Torah’s Torah scroll and ark.

Enrollment Fee: sliding scale $3600-$6500
Additional Tutoring Hours: Bundles of 8, 1-hour sessions, $600-$1000

Read more about Wilderness Torah’s sliding scale guidelines here.

Ready to Sign Up?

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Curriculum

Curriculum Topics:

Learn the meaning and melody of the essential morning Shabbat prayers. Discover what a minyan is, how communal prayer works, and step into the practice of confidently leading and participating in the service.

Receive personalized tutoring to recite Torah blessings, prepare verses to chant, or dive into the sacred art of trop. Build the skills to show up to the Torah with presence and intention during your ceremony

Explore the myths, teachings, and commentaries of your Torah portion with a dedicated mentor. Wrestle with big questions, uncover personal relevance, and craft a heartfelt D’var Torah. Receive coaching on your speech giving skills so you can confidently bring your voice to the community.

Gather your child’s “core village” (family members, close friends, teachers, etc) in sharing reflections and wisdom to key questions surrounding the B’mitzvah ceremony: Jewish practice, the Divine, community, and what it means to come of age. Four councils before the ceremony and one after create a meaningful container of support and integration.

  • Learning beyond the basics
  • Hebrew
  • Reading Torah trop
  • Supporting a Mitzvah project
  • Helping other participants learn prayers or chant Torah

Your Mentors

Rabbi Paige Lincenberg
Rabbi Paige LincenbergWilderness Torah B'mitzvah Mentor
Sarah Elise Rund
Sarah Elise RundWilderness Torah B'mitzvah Mentor
Dor Haberer
Dor HabererWilderness Torah B'mitzvah Mentor

FAQ

 A. No. However, Wilderness Torah’s B’mitzvah journey is designed to be a part of the B’naiture program, and is greatly supported by participation in B’naiture.

The main program does not include reading trop.   Your child will mostly study and learn their Torah portion with their tutor. If you would like your child to learn to read trop, you can add on additional tutoring hours.  Read more about the curriculum here.

A. This program is designed for individual tutoring, but if a child wants to learn alongside one or more friends from their B’naiture cohort, a group model is optional.

A. The meeting dates are determined based on the participant’s and tutor’s schedules. Once registration is complete, the participant’s family and the B’mitzvah tutor will have a conversation to get on the same page about priorities, plan, and schedule.

A. For individual tutoring sessions, you may cancel or reschedule up to 48 hours in advance by communicating directly with the tutor. For the ceremony, you may cancel or reschedule up to 90 days in advance directly with the tutor. In case of cancellation, Wilderness Torah will refund 75% of your unused fees within the 90-day cancellation window.

We endorse Chochmat HaLev located in Berkeley, California. Learn more about Mitzvat Halev here.

No. Unfortunately, we do not offer:

  • Venue /location rental
  • Event organizing
  • Sound equipment

More Questions?

Ready to Enroll?