Although a person typically achieves Bar Mitzvah — coming of age in the Jewish tradition — at 13 years old, four Cornell students received the opportunity to participate in a B’nai Mitzvah, a Bar Mitzvah that includes multiple people, on Saturday. The ceremony was followed by a celebration of more than 400 people in Duffield Hall. 

Coordinated by Cornell Hillel, the Big Red Bar Mitzvah is the first event of its kind at Cornell, according to Adam Fisher ’12, president of the organization.

“Last year, a student approached me saying she never had a bat mitzvah and wondered if Hillel could throw her a party,” Fisher said. “We couldn’t do it, but that sparked the idea of actually having a bar/bat mitzvah process for students who were interested.”

Fisher explained the special significance of the event. 

“Instead of them being 13 and being forced to go through this process, they made this decision on their own to begin their Jewish learning and Jewish adulthood,” he said.

Michelle Gelshteyn ’13, one of the four students who achieved B’nai Mitzvah, echoed Fisher’s sentiments.

“My family wasn’t religious … but I always wanted to increase my knowledge of Judaism,” she said. “This was something that was important to me, because I knew that I wouldn’t have this opportunity again later in life.”

The Bar Mitzvah festivities spanned the entire weekend, Fisher said.

On Friday night, the participants  — Gelshteyn, Zachary Velcoff ’13, Ali Zimmerman ’13 and Amy Sudol ’14 — and guests attended services and held a traditional Shabbat dinner on 104West!, which more than 200 people attended. 

Services took place again on Saturday morning in Anabel Taylor Hall. The participants each gave speeches and practiced the ritual aspects of the Bar Mitzvah ceremony,  such as reading the Torah.

“It was nice to establish myself as a member of the Jewish community and to celebrate with my good friends,” Gelshteyn said.

Velcoff agreed, saying, “It was a beautiful moment. My grandparents came up from Florida … They were both crying at the service this morning. In addition to joining this culture, and joining this community, it’s also a reaffirmation of who I am and how I fit into my family.”

The Cornell community shared in participants’ joy on Saturday night at a Hillel-sponsored celebration, which more than 400 people attended.

“There were Jewish students, a large group of Muslim students who came to support the movement and people who came because they’d never been to a Bar Mitzvah celebration before,” Fisher said. “Everyone had an unbelievable time.”

The party featured a performance by Cornell Bhangra, an appearance by the Big Red Bear, giveaways and the traditional horah dance. There was also a raffle, with proceeds going to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, according to Fisher.

“I had a great time,” said Adam Davis ’14. “It was better than my own Bar Mitzvah.”

Through emails and word of mouth, Hillel found the four students who were interested in participating in the Bar Mitzvah process.

For five weeks this semester, the students devoted themselves to learning about the Jewish faith.

Starting in the beginning of October, they were required to attend eight 90-minute meetings in which they met with three rabbis of three different Jewish sects: Reform, Reconstructionist and Orthodox. During the sessions, the students learned about the importance of social justice and community service in the Jewish faith, according to Fisher.

“We talked about where we were in our Jewish journey,” Velcoff said. “I didn’t really have a good answer to that question because I was raised half-Jewish, half-Christian. I was always embracing the holidays and the traditions and the food, but I had never really considered myself Jewish.”

The students described the entire process as something that changed the way they viewed not only Judaism, but religion in general.

“I would consider myself more open to religion,” Velcoff said. “I’m not going to say that every single story in the Torah is fact, but they offer lessons to live by, and discussing these stories can help us better understand what the divine actually means.”

They agreed that the process also offered benefits beyond the realm of religion.

“God is shorthand for concepts like peace and love and justice,” Velcoff said. “To have this Bar Mitzvah experience allows me to embrace these concepts.”

The students said that the process this semester brought them closer together as a group.

“Going through something so powerful together … I think we’ll definitely stay friends,” Gelshteyn said. “We shared an experience that no one else has.”

Fisher expressed hope that the event would happen again next year.

“The whole weekend, I’ve been calling it the first annual because I think there’s a lot of interest in the initiative itself,” he said. “There will always be a group of people on campus who will want to go through this process.”