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Today I received a letter from the temple telling me that Steph's Bat Mitzvah date has been set for February 6, 2010. And I'm supposed to do exactly what with this information now?!

Comments

[Mir]

You're supposed to mark your calendar, silly... although what sort of synagogue do you go to that ASSIGNS dates years in advance? February's a terrible month to travel to New England if you're having family in from other areas. :P

(I was Bat Mitzvahed in June. I doubt anyone would've come in the winter.)

[Karen]

Believe it or not, this is par for the course around here -- all the synagogues assign dates 2 years in advance, I guess for those families who feel they must turn it into the event of the century. Also, our congregation is growing by leaps and bounds, so they're all double Bar/Bat Mitzvahs as it is, and I guess they have to make sure there are enough Saturdays to go around.

They don't have Bar/Bat Mitzvahs in the summer, so all the kids who turn 13 in the summer get the early fall dates, which pushes everyone else back. Steph's birthday is at the end of December, hence the lovely early February date. My parents were married on a Tuesday evening in February (it was the only time they could do it while Dad was home from the Army), so there's a precedent for dead-of-the-winter celebrations in our family.

[Di]

Oh, this is such a big thing in Boca. And people get REALLY upset when their dates coincide. And they will have these big stand-offs about "I'm not going to change my date...you are going to have to change yours!!!"

So, yes, you might get a "Save the Date" card from someone right after the bris, just to make sure you don't do something rude like plan YOUR child's bar/bat mitzvah for that day.

[Karen]

They had asked for a list of people we wouldn't want to be partnered with -- as if I could possibly know who Steph will be friends with in 7th grade! Sheesh!

More and more, I'm realizing it's a very good thing I don't live in Boca. ;-)