Life Cycle

Life Cycle Introduction

Brit Milah &
Simchat Brit

Consecration

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Confirmation

Marriage

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Conversion

Divorce

Death

Yizkor

Yahrzeit

Facility Usage
Confirmation

Confirmation is a recent addition to the cycle of Jewish observance and celebration. In the middle of the l9th century, the founders of the Reform movement felt that the ritual of Bar and Bat Mitzvah did not speak to the social and spiritual realities of an enlightened, non-Orthodox European Jewry. They also were dedicated to a level of Jewish education for young people which required study beyond the age of thirteen. Consequently, many of these congregations created an extended and sophisticated program of study and a celebration of its conclusion. Today, even while most Reform congregations have re-established Bar and Bat Mitzvah in a manner appropriate to our Jewish communities, Confirmation has become an integral part of the life of Reform congregations and of many Conservative congregations, as well.





At Adat Shalom, Confirmation is viewed as a concentrated program of study and experience which prepares our young people to formulate an adult approach to Judaism, to the Jewish community and to the application of Jewish values to the difficult challenges of the adult world. The goal of this program is to enable the students to incorporate Torah --Jewish teachings in the broadest sense -- into their adult lives and into their decision making process. This ideal is further re-enforced by the symbolism and significance of Shavuot, the festival which commemorates the giving of Torah at Mt.Sinai, and the time at which Confirmation is celebrated.

Confirmation represents the capstone of the current program of formal religious education at Temple Adat Shalom. It is a curriculum which begins in Eighth grade and culminates in a special Tenth Grade experience, and one in which we hope every student will participate. A Jewish education at Temple Adat Shalom which does not extend through Confirmation must be viewed as incomplete.