p A bar mitzvah!
p How do you do it? And how do you do it during COVID?
p To tell the truth, even for an optimist like me, it was hard to believe the event would actually happen.
p Either someone would have to quarantine, or get sick, heaven forbid, or Bibi would decide he didn't feel like us protesting that weekend and lock us in our homes.
p So many things could have gone wrong.
p And still, a miracle happened and we reached the long-awaited day.
p I'm serving you the fun on a platter. All the details are here! Because why, why, why enjoy alone
p So before I get to the practical part, I'll talk about Noam and the vision.
p Noam decided he's an atheist and didn't want to read from the Torah. And he did.
p How?
p More about my genius below 😆
p The vision was for Noam to feel at the center, even though it was only 15 guests in all, all of whom he sees regularly.
p Noam had decided he's an atheist; he'd been to a few of his cousins' and classmates' bar mitzvahs and always came home horrified, saying never, ever would he read from the Torah.
p Time will tell 😆
p A canceled trip: a year ahead, we'd booked a flight for a cruise leaving from Barcelona, plus 3 nights in Barcelona and 4 nights in Paris and Disneyland.
p On the cruise we were supposed to visit Rome, Florence and Provence.
p Let's just say predicting the future can't get any worse than that!
p A big party for friends: not within the COVID rules, and Noam wasn't into it either.
p So what did work?
p 1. A birthday at the beach for his friends: a surfing lesson
p 2. Reading from the Torah
p 3. Personal branding: kippahs, masks, hats and so on
p 4. A printed schedule for the two days
p 5. Takeaway food kits on the way out of the synagogue, for the drive to Jerusalem
p 6. A photographer to capture the magic in the air
p 7. A night at a hotel with the close, immediate family
p 8. Added meaning: a tour of the City of David with an archaeologist
p 9. Great food throughout the two days: 2 restaurants, and lunch delivered to the hotel
p 10. Another little walk around the neighborhood
p I'll start from the end: Ido (my middle son) shouted to me from the pool: "Mom!! This is exactly the bar mitzvah I want!! Everything the same. Everything." That says it all.
p * For his friends, I arranged a cool surfing lesson at the Lev HaYam club, right by Atarim Square in Tel Aviv.
p 7 friends: we drove the boys in two cars, did the lesson, ordered pizzas and a cake, and brought fruit and drinks.
p After all that we went back into the sea for a bit more fun (at a beach with a lifeguard, of course), and it was magical, simple and perfect.
p So something for his friends ☑️
p * Reading from the Torah.
p One grandpa is an atheist, the other a believer.
p It mattered a lot to the believing grandpa that Noam read from the Torah (and to us), so how do you convince him?
p The kid was dead against it!
p I posted on our neighborhood Facebook group asking who could recommend an easygoing rabbi, got loads of responses, and just had to choose.
p I told Noam it was his choice whether to read from the Torah or not, but that it would make Grandpa very happy if he did. I asked him to do just one lesson with the rabbi and then decide. That's why it was important to me to choose a rabbi who fit the bill!
p When I came across Daniel, I just knew he was the one for us. He looks totally secular, pleasant, smiley, easygoing and laid-back.
p We were at the height of COVID, and Daniel started giving Noam lessons on Zoom!
p The first time they met in person was at the bar mitzvah itself, heaven help us 🙈
p Daniel really managed to get Noam to understand the meaning of reading from the Torah, and if Noam said it was great, then truly all the credit goes to Daniel (and to the genius mom who found the way, but never mind that right now).
p Daniel Klughaft, a cool, easygoing rabbi: 054-4904565
p At the entrance to the synagogue, I handed everyone branded gifts, which to me made all the difference:
p 🌼 Gilded books of Psalms with a gold Ferrero Rocher inside
p 🌼 A reusable bag with hand sanitizer, a branded towel and fans inside
p 🌼 Takeaway boxes for the guests to take on the road to Jerusalem, with lots of tasty surprises from Miki Shemu, including macarons
p 🌼 Masks printed with Team Noam
p 🌼 Branded kippahs with the Hebrew and English dates
p 🌼 Branded water bottles
p 🌼 Little baskets for throwing candies, with a bar mitzvah boy sticker on them
p 🌼 Branded hats
p 🌼 A printed program with the schedule for the next two days
p I bought the boxes, the candy baskets with the bar mitzvah boy on them, and the Psalms at Arizot Tel Aviv. I did the branding on the towels, kippahs, fans, hats and masks at the perfect shop, Hula.
p We added stickers, and I used them to wrap all the macarons and cookies (see the photos).
p So the Torah reading and personal branding ☑️
p * Since the 15 guests were grandpas, grandmas, uncles and aunts, we decided to stay at a hotel together and do something meaningful in Jerusalem.
p Some of the older people with us are in a risk group, so it was very important to us to hold the event as safely as possible and by the rules. As for meaning, we hired a tour guide in the City of David. And not just any guide: an archaeologist who excavated the City of David with his own hands (this century, don't worry). We ended the tour at the Western Wall and prayed for COVID to end :)
p Eli Shukron, you're the king! If my dad said you were the highlight of the trip, you've reached the peak of compliments!
p So meaning ☑️
p * A photographer. A must!
p What's there to photograph with 15 people, you ask? Our smartest investment of the event! A picture is worth 1,000 words? With him, it's a million. Ben Mizrahi, you're on fire! You cared so much, you photographed with sensitivity, you stayed to the very end, and you came up with ideas for photos that will stay in our hearts for life.
p Ben, it turns out, was also a bridal makeup artist, so he fixed my makeup, did lovely pigtails for my daughter and entertained the kids :)
p Ben, I'm already booking you for Ido's bar mitzvah and Yaeli's bat mitzvah. Their weddings are too early even for me 😝
p So a photographer ☑️
p * What about speeches? When would we give them? At the synagogue seemed too plain to me, and I didn't want to mix one joy with another.
p At the restaurant would be too noisy, and I didn't want to mix that joy with the joy of food 😝.
p Sooo, the Orient hotel in Jerusalem?? You're hired!!
p We booked rooms at the hotel, and whoever could join, came.
p Whoever couldn't, we understood of course; the main thing was that they were with us for the Torah reading.
p The hotel is simply gorgeous, the pool is amazing, the food is good, and they kept to the rules.
p They never answer the phone, which is a bit annoying, but we'll forgive them.
p So a luxurious hotel ☑️
p * So again: speeches, speeches! We booked a room at our hotel, where I screened the slideshow and anyone who wanted read out a speech. The aunts and uncles who live abroad and couldn't come sent speeches too, and we read them to Noam.
p Let's talk about the slideshow for a moment.
p In one word: a nightmare!
p In two words: a nightmare nightmare!
p In three? Okay, you get it...
p I'm one of those people who saves photos in folders by location with descriptions, and it took me a whole week just to sort photos and videos!
p And then a few more days to edit the slideshow.
p I'm techy, and I still got tangled up, and in the end I just told myself: my genius 😝, enough.
p It's all rubbish.
p And I simply did the most basic thing possible.
p It came out 20 minutes long. It was important to me to make the point that if I suffered, everyone suffers!!!
p So moving speeches and a slideshow ☑️☑️
q “Don't count your candles! Enjoy the glow” - someone smart
p Food:
p * What would we eat for lunch??
p Takeaway at the hotel. We ordered authentic Jerusalem food from Tzidkiyahu for all the guests.
p Lunch ☑️
p * Dinner:
p HaSadna restaurant, from Assaf Granit's Machneyuda group.
p The restaurant is right across from the hotel, so we walked and breathed mountain air as clear as wine :)
p A fine restaurant, with very high-level food.
p We asked for our own section outdoors and made sure of two separate tables, so everyone was protected.
p We ordered a fixed menu, which the restaurant recommended, and it proved itself. Nobody went hungry, there was a big selection, and the price was very sane:
p 235 per person without extras or service.
p So a fine restaurant for dinner ☑️
p * A walk around the neighborhood near the hotel.
p The guests left, and it was just us, the immediate family. We started to take in that it had all gone well, relaxed in the hotel pools, had a good sleep, and in the afternoon went for a walk around the neighborhood near the hotel.
p Near the hotel there's the First Station complex; we went on a bit further to the Mishkenot Sha'ananim neighborhood, saw the windmill and ended the walk at Mamilla.
p There was a magical atmosphere here too, and we all really enjoyed it.
p We ended the evening at "Adom" restaurant in the First Station complex. It was very tasty.
p A little walk around the neighborhood ☑️
p * Of course, you have to prepare beforehand, things like:
p Sending a save-the-date
p Booking a rabbi
p Booking a synagogue
p Booking a photographer and a makeup artist
p Booking a hotel
p Booking restaurants
p Reserving the guide
p Buying the boxes and everything we handed out at the synagogue (food boxes for leaving the synagogue, sanitizer packs, the towel, the fans and the kippahs)
p Preparing the branding ahead (masks, towels, kippahs, stickers for the boxes, fans, stickers for the water)
p Getting highlights in my hair
p A mani-pedi
p Printing a program
p Buying the food for the takeaway kits handed out at the synagogue, and packing it all in little bags with "Noam turns 13" or "Thanks for celebrating with us, Noam turns 13" stickers
p Pastries for nibbling at the synagogue, and disposable tableware
p All the suppliers in one place:
p Daniel Klughaft, a cool, easygoing rabbi: 054-4904565
p The Lev HaYam club, for a surfing birthday:
p https://www.levyam.co.il/
p The Orient hotel, Jerusalem:
p https://www.isrotel.co.il/orient
p Tzidkiyahu restaurant for lunch, Jerusalem:
p https://tzidkiyahu.co.il/
p HaSadna restaurant, by Assaf Granit, Jerusalem:
p https://www.sdnrest.com/
p Adom restaurant, Jerusalem:
p https://www.adom.rest/
p Photographer, Ben Mizrahi:
p https://www.facebook.com/ben.mizrahi.58
p Arizot, Jaffa-Tel Aviv:
p https://www.arizot.shop/
p Personal branding, Hula:
p https://www.hula.co.il/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4f35BRDBARIsAPePBHy93g5oPTagK9A-R25C1ClGrvQOh-g_YBhvxmi3uiMLimLr-T3G2GwaAuBvEALw_wcB
p Tour guide, Eli Shukron:
p https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010163465143
p Makeup, Michal Ofir:
p https://www.facebook.com/mofir1
p A mani-pedi with my gorgeous Heli Bruner:
p https://www.facebook.com/heli.bruneralis
p Hair highlights with the one and only Adi Shiri:
p https://www.facebook.com/Adicut-%D7%91%D7%95%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A7-%D7%A9%D7%9C-%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%A8-146036122761993
p Program printing, Dfus Dan:
p https://dfusdan.co.il/
p So why, why, why enjoy alone?
p All the stories were saved on Instagram too. Come visit my new Instagram and my Facebook group, where you can share your own good times too, because why should you enjoy alone?