🡄 (Previous category) :: 📁 Brit Milah & Simḥat Bat

📁 Engagements & Weddings :: (Next Category) 🡆

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

This is an archive of prayers and related resources for those celebrating a bnei mitsvah or other birthday celebration.

Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first?

Public Repetition of the Shaḥarit Amidah on Confirmation Day, by Rabbi Max Landsberg (1884)

This is Rabbi Max Landsberg’s public repetition of the shaḥarit amidah for a Confirmation Day as found in his Ritual for Jewish Prayer (1884), pp. 21-28 with adaptations of the traditional blessings found on pp. 46-47.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Public Amidah

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Max Landsberg

A Child’s Prayer on its Parent’s Birthday, by Frederick de Sola Mendes (1887)

“A Child’s Prayer on its Parent’s Birthday” was written by Frederick de Sola Mendes and published in the anthology, The Jewish Home Prayer-Book (1887), pages 130-131.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., birthday prayers, children's prayers, English vernacular prayer, prayers on behalf of parents

Contributor(s):

Frederick de Sola Mendes and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

A Child’s Prayer on its Birthday, by Frederick de Sola Mendes (1887)

“A Child’s Prayer on its Birthday” was written by Frederick de Sola Mendes and published in the anthology, The Jewish Home Prayer-Book (1887), page 130.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., birthday prayers, children's prayers, English vernacular prayer

Contributor(s):

Frederick de Sola Mendes and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Birthday Prayer, by Lilian Helen Montagu (1895)

“Birthday Prayer” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 29-30.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Jewish Women's Prayers, תחינות teḥinot, teḥinot in English, West Central Girls' Club

Contributor(s):

Lilian Helen Montagu and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Prayer of Thanksgiving, by Lilian Helen Montagu (1895)

“Prayer of Thanksgiving” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 6-7. This prayer reads to me as possibly intended to be used as a prayer of transition, before the tradition of the bat mitsvah was universally adopted, at a time when a young woman might be old enough to begin contemplating their future, their marriage prospects, and their general “usefulness” — especially in regards to their future work — the overarching theme of this collection of prayers. This affirmation in particular stands out to me as radically important for Lilian Montagu and other young suffragettes to express in 1895: “Lord, whether in the future I marry or whether I remain single, I shall be able to lead a useful, happy life” and “Lord, I thank Thee for my womanhood!”

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Gratitude, Jewish Women's Prayers, paraliturgical modim, תחינות teḥinot, teḥinot in English, thanksgiving, West Central Girls' Club

Contributor(s):

Lilian Helen Montagu and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Birthday Prayer, by Julia M. Cohen (1907)

This “Birthday Prayer” is found in Julia M. Cohen’s The children’s Psalm-book, a selection of Psalms with explanatory comments, together with a prayer-book for home use in Jewish families (1907), pp. 304-305.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., children's prayers, English vernacular prayer, תחינות teḥinot, teḥinot in English

Contributor(s):

Julia Matilda Waley Cohen and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

שֶׁהֶחֱיָֽנוּ | Sheheḥiyanu, a rhyming translation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919)

This translation of the blessing sheheḥiyanu was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published under the title “Blessing for Rosh-Hashanah” in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 11.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers, Rosh haShanah (l’Maaseh Bereshit)

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., appreciation, blessings, rhyming translation, שהחינו shehiyanu

Contributor(s):

Jessie Ethel Sampter and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

On the Decalogue, life wisdom for a Bnei Mitsvah by Rabbi Dr. Mordecai Kaplan (ca. 1920s)

This is a restatement of the Decalogue offered as life wisdom by Rabbi Dr. Mordecai Kaplan for his daughters, sometime in the 1920s, possibly as early as 1922 at the Bat Mitsvah of his oldest daughter Judith. The document was found by Mel Scult and shared by him from his Mordecai Kaplan Discussion Group on Facebook.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers, Addenda

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., civil declarations and charters, Decalogue, declarations, מוסר mussar

Contributor(s):

Mordecai Kaplan and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Hymn for Shaḇuoth (Father, See Thy Children) — from a Confirmation hymn by Felix Adler (1868) adapted by Angie Irma Cohon (1921)

“Hymn for Shaḇuoth (Father, See Thy Children)” is based on “Confirmation (Father, see thy suppliant children)” an original hymn by Felix Adler published in Hymns, for Divine Service in the Temple Emanu-El (1871), hymn 34, p. 68. The last four lines of the hymn have been amended and replaced with “Till our lives shall bud and blossom…” by Angie Irma Cohon, for use on Shavuot. This version was published in her תפלת ישראל (Tefilat Yisrael) A Brief Jewish Ritual (Women of Miẓpah 1921), p. 19.

Categories:

Shavuot, Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., confirmation, hymns

Contributor(s):

Angie Irma Cohon, Felix Adler and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Israel’s Unity, a prayer for national identity established in the context of its religious mission (CCAR 1923)

“Israel’s Unity” is the twenty-eighth prayer found in ברכה ותהלה Blessing and Praise: A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Individual and Home Devotion (CCAR 1923), pp. 96-98.

Categories:

Erev Pesaḥ, Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers, Conversion

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., alienation, English vernacular prayer, exhortation, Jewish identity, Jewish particularism, teḥinot in English, תוכחות tokheḥot

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Unknown and Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]

Shaḇuoth—the Festival of Weeks, an exhortation for parents of bnei mitsvah confirmants (CCAR 1923)

“Shaḇuoth—The Feast of Weeks” is the forty-first prayer found in ברכה ותהלה Blessing and Praise: A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Individual and Home Devotion (CCAR 1923), pp. 135-138.

Categories:

Shavuot, Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., confirmation, English vernacular prayer, exhortation, performing mitsvot, prayers on behalf of parents, teḥinot in English, עדות witnessing

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Unknown and Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]

Confirmation, a poem by Miriam del Banco (1932)

The poem “Confirmation” by Miriam del Banco (1858-1931) was included in her posthumously published anthology, Poetry and Prose (1932), p. 80-81.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English poetry, English vernacular prayer, Prayers as poems

Contributor(s):

Miriam del Banco and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

מזמור לתודה לכבוד משה איש האלהים | A Thanksgiving in Commemoration of Moses Maimonides, an octocentennial prayer by Ḥakham Shem Tov Gaguine (Bevis Marks Synagogue, 27 May 1935)

“A Thanksgiving in Commemoration of Moses Maimonides” with its accompanying Hashkabah is found in the Service of Praise and Thanksgiving to Commemorate the 800th Anniversary of the Birth of Moses Maimonides prepared by Bevis Marks Synagogue in London on 27 May 1935.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Maimonides, Moshe ben Maimon, Western Sefaradim

Contributor(s):

Shem Tov Gaguine and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

מי שברך לתקופת יום הולדת | Mi sheBerakh on behalf of one celebrating a birthday, by Rabbi Dr. Mordecai Kaplan (1945)

“Prayer in behalf of one celebrating a birthday,” by Rabbi Mordecai Menaḥem Kaplan can be found on p. 494-497 of his The Sabbath Prayer Book (New York: The Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, 1945)

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers, During the Aliyot, Well-being, health, and caregiving, Old Age

Tags:

20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., ageing, birthday prayers, מי שברך mi sheberakh

Contributor(s):

Mordecai Kaplan and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

[Prayer for a] Birthday Celebration (CCAR 1951)

“[Prayer for a] Birthday Celebration” is found in the “Family Worship” section of the Union Home Prayer Book (CCAR 1951), page 31.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., birthday prayers, English vernacular prayer

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Unknown and Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]

ברכת הורים לבר או בת מצווה | Parents’ blessing for a Bar or Bat Mitsvah by Rabbi Dr. Aryeh Cohen

I wrote this brachah on the occasion of my son Oryah’s bar mitsvah. The Aramaic/Hebrew and the translation are mine. My partner and I recited the blessing after my son was called up to the Torah. The brachah replaces the ברוך שפטרנו which is recited in some communities. This blessing (which is basically self-explanatory) expresses gratitude for Divine favor leading to this moment and a prayer for Heavenly guidance for my son’s continued path. Though the translation is gender neutral in relation to God, the Hebrew/Aramaic is gendered masculine. This is my practice with regards to my children. I bless my daughter with feminine God language and my son with masculine God language. The blessing can be grammatically adapted for a bat mitsvah.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Bar Mitsvah, בת מצוה Bat Mitsvah, Parents blessing children, prayers for adolescents, Prayers of Primary Caregivers

Contributor(s):

Aryeh Cohen

תפילת בת המצווה | Prayer of the Bat mitsvah after she finishes reading from the Torah, by Chaim Hames-Ezra

A statement by the Bat Mitsvah after her first aliyah.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., בת מצוה Bat Mitsvah, Jewish Women's Prayers, קריאת התורה ḳriyat hatorah, Masorti, ישראל Yisrael

Contributor(s):

חיים היימס-עזרא

שבחי המשפחה לבת המצווה | A Prayer in Honor of a Bat mitsvah from her Family, by Dr. Chaim Hames-Ezra

A prayer for a ritual of blessing of a bat mitsvah by her family.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., בת מצוה Bat Mitsvah, prayers concerning children, Prayers of Primary Caregivers, ישראל Yisrael

Contributor(s):

חיים היימס-עזרא and Refoyl Finkl (translation)

ברכת יוצר האדם | Mi sheberakh for the egg donor, gestational surrogate, physicians, and parents of children celebrating their Bnei Mitsvah, by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried (2022)

This is a “Blessing for the human creation” composed by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried for a mi sheberakh delivered after the Torah reading of twin siblings celebrating their bar and bat mitsvah. Both children came into this world through medical intervention, egg donation, and surrogate pregnancy. “It was a really moving ceremony,” said Rabbi Gottfried, “it is very rare that the parents are in touch with the egg donor and pregnancy surrogate (from the US and Ukraine) thirteen years later, and they all celebrate together….After their ascent to the Torah, I asked the parents together with the donor and the surrogate to take the stage and greet them. I share here (with their approval) the blessing of the “Human Creation.”

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers

Tags:

21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., אשר יצר Asher Yatsar, Beit Tefillah Yisraeli, בצלם אלהים btselem Elohim, Needing Proofreading, Needing Vocalization, prayers on behalf of parents, prayers of health care workers

Contributor(s):

Esteban Gottfried

מי שברך לחנוכת בר מצווה | Mi SheBerakh for Ḥanukat Bar Mitsvah (70th Anniversary of the Bar Mitzvah Portion), by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A Mi SheBerakh for the 70th anniversary of the bar mitzvah ceremony, referred to by some as a “Ḥanukat Bar Mitzvah” or “second bar mitsvah.” Written for the ḥanukat bar mitzvah of the author’s grandfather, 30 August 2015.

Categories:

Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers, During the Aliyot

Tags:

מי שברך mi sheberakh, Old Age

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/index.php?cat=1192

Associated Image:

Bat Mitzvah with Rabbi Alona Lisista (credit: Alona Lisista, license: CC BY-SA)

(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)

Terms of Use: Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:

Properly attribute any information in the description of this archive page to the Open Siddur Project (<https://opensiddur.org>).
Clearly indicate the date you accessed this page and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
Provide the stable link to this archive: <https://opensiddur.org/index.php?cat=1192>.
Indicate that the original page was shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license. (To redistribute or remix this page in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the CC BY-SA license.)

Additional Notes:

The views expressed on this page and in these shared works represents the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of volunteer contributors, or its institutional partners.
We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.

Support this work: The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.

ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." (Psalms 90:17)

Reddit Facebook Mastodon Bluesky Telegram WhatsApp SMS Email