Vogel Gila, Reiter Shunit
Special Education Department, Beit Berl College, Doar Beit Berl, Israel.
Ment Retard. 2004 Aug;42(4):294-303. doi: 10.1352/0047-6765(2004)42<294:SOABMC>2.0.CO;2.
In the Jewish religion, a bar or bat mitzvah ceremony is the rite of passage from childhood towards adulthood. Twenty-one youngsters who attended two special education schools in Israel participated in group bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies. Parents were interviewed both before the learning process and after the ceremony. Findings showed that the bar/bat mitzvah experience was a positive multidimensional one. Dimensions identified were bar/bat mitzvah as a transition, a normative, and a religious experience; an event leading to a sense of connectedness; an opportunity for the enhancement of self-image; and a peak life experience.
