B’ Mitzvah Rites of Passage

I provide meaningful mentoring and ritual.

Explore with me how to make your child’s B’Mitzvah a potent rite of passage. I support traditional B’Mitzvah training and ceremony as well as nature-based rites of passage. Join me on a journey to discover how to best support your child at this critical life passage.

  • I work closely with student and family to customize the your child’s learning journey, ritual training, and B’Mitzah ceremony.

    I collaborate with your preferred teachers and mentors to diversify the learning experience and I partner with your preferred musical leaders to create a vibrant ritual.

    Topics that I often includes to prepare for this special initiation include:

    • G!d and spirituality

    • Hebrew language

    • Hebrew Calendar, Holidays, and Shabbat

    • Torah as mythic story

    • Torah Reading (leyning)

    • Jewish Values (Mitzvot, Midot, Tikkun Olam)

    • Jewish Prayer and Ritual

    • Israel/Palestine

  • As a supplement or alternative to traditional B’Mitzvah, I offer customized nature-based initiation rites to support the passage from childhood into adolescence. I offer one-on-one mentoring, nature connection experiences, skills development (e.g. tending sacred fire), and age-appropriate initiation rites (e.g. culminating sacred fire solo ceremony).

    As a founder of Wilderness Torah, I developed B’naiture, a cohort based 2-year journey centered in the East Bay. Learn more by reading this article I wrote about Nature-Based Rites of Passage: Putting Bnai Mitzvah Back Where It Belongs: In Nature

Discovery Call: Click here to schedule a free 30-minute Discovery Call to explore with me.

Contact Rabbi Zelig

Testimonials

  • Having my daughter prepare for her Bat Mitzvah with Rabbi Zelig was inspirational. She met with him one on one monthly and learned about Judaism at a level she would not have been able to in a group setting. She learned about the depth of Jewish prayer, nuances of the Torah, and authentic spirituality. As Zelig led the service, the full range of people from Orthodox to not Jewish all exclaimed that it was the best and most meaningful B’Mitzvah they had ever attended. They felt welcomed, included, and brought in to the significance of the day for Talia and for our lineage.

    Lauren T.

  • Until I met Zelig I wasn’t interested in a Bar Mitzvah. After he mentored me through B’naiture, Wilderness Torah’s rite of passage program, I became inspired to have a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. Rabbi Zelig guided my entire coming-of-age journey including my forest Bar Mitzvah. I feel so grateful for how he showed up for me over the years, walking his talk, being real, uplifting my strengths, supporting me to mature and grow, and being a very positive role model. Rabbi Zelig has been like another father to me, helping me grow into the man I am today.

    Mo Gottfried

  • Rabbi Zelig helped us weave beautiful layers of meaning and depth to an important rite of passage for our family. We love how he supported our son in finding his connection to the tradition, centering earth based Judaism values. The ceremony was inspirational and relatable for our family and friends and it was a very memorable occasion. We are very grateful we had the opportunity to work with Rabbi Zelig in this way.

    Lauren Ohlson

  • We come from a blended background -- Ashkenazi Jewish, Brazilian, Japanese, and more. Rabbi Zelig facilitated Noam’s Bar Mitzvah full of depth and warmth, centering Jewish tradition and universal connections to humanity and earth, while beautifully honoring Noam’s intersecting identities and integrating our families' diverse backgrounds. He brought out the best in Noam and left everyone in attendance - Jewish and otherwise - feeling deeply touched by the value and significance of this rite of passage.

    Saul Kato

Proud to partner with 18Doors.org to serve interfaith couples and families!