Confirmation at Temple Beit HaYam
Confirmation began as an alternative to Bar Mitzvah. Precisely when the progressive stream of Judaism in Europe began the rite is unknown. The earliest reference to Confirmation is in the records of the Progressive Congregation of Dessau which notes that the ceremony took place in 1803. By 1809, congregations throughout Germany, Denmark, France and Russia were introducing this revolutionary concept to their liturgical calendars AND they were including girls, a radical and ground-breaking departure from the male dominated and male oriented Jewish religious culture. Rabbi Isaac M. Wise, for all intents and purposes, the founder of Reform Judaism in America, brought the ceremony to these shores in 1848. If one visits older Reform congregations in the East, you can see pictures of Confirmation classes from the 19th century still on display.
The general consensus about Bar Mitzvah fell into two categories. First, a thirteen year old boy (even then) was hardly capable of taking on adult responsibility, either in terms of earning a living or fulfilling religious obligations. Second, given Progressive Judaism’s bent toward equality, Bar Mitzvah obviously excluded young women. This was an unacceptable breach of Reform sensitivities.
Confirmation was designed to allow an older, more mature teenager the opportunity to CONFIRM their faith in God, Torah and the Jewish People. It was built around SHAVUOT, one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals, the time of ZMAN MATAN TORAH, the giving of the Torah at Sinai. The ancient name for SHAVUOT was HAG HA-BIQURIM, the Festival of First Fruits. At Temple Beit HaYam, we like to think that our confirmands are our first fruits, the very best that we have to offer, the children who electively have gone beyond their Bat/Bar Mitzvah experience and have studied an extra two years, immersed in subject matter that will prepare them for their Jewish lives ahead.
It is the congregation’s expectation that candidates for Bat or Bar Mitzvah will commit themselves to continuing their Jewish Education through Confirmation.
The class meets weekly for 2.5 hours with the Rabbi and is more of an ongoing discussion about living a Jewish life, developing the ability to see the world through Jewish eyes, encouraging a moral stance that conflates with Jewish values and, of course, navigating through teenage years unscathed. The class writes its own service, which is usually held on the Shabbat closest to Shavuot. Our confirmands have consistently excelled in both their contributions to Jewish life and their community. We take enormous pride in their accomplishments in the very best of ways.
