Kabbalat Mitzvah was held for Year 7 students and their families on Tuesday evening. Centering around the theme of becoming B’nei Mitzvah and what this means, Shabbat was adopted as a lens through which receiving (kabbalah) Judaism and responsibilities could be explored. To quote the Zionist thinker Ahad Ha’am, ‘More than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews’. 

The evening began with hearing from members of three generations about their thoughts and associations with Shabbat. Participants then chose from multiple Shabbat-themed sessions on offer, ranging from challah plaiting, kiddush cup and challah-cover decorating and mindfulness, to how to host a Shabbat dinner, Shabbat in Israel, Kabbalah, and Shabbat in secret. Following the sessions, a communal Havdalah ceremony was held and parents presented their children with hand-written messages of hopes and prayers to be placed in a mezuzah.

Sidra Moshinsky

Director of Jewish Life and Learning