I was honoured to be asked by the family of one of the 6 girls who had their Bat Mitzvah yesterday at the Pine Street Shul to be the official photographer for the event.  I have linked to an article about the ceremony above, but basically it’s a celebration of a girl’s “coming of age”. I thoroughly enjoyed the morning at the Shul, and the girls were so much fun and it was just an amazing event to be a part of… so very special.

It was the first Bat Mitzvah that I’d been to, and thankfully had attended one of their rehearsals the week before so that I could meet their “Batty” teacher,  Dalya, and find out all the rules of the Shul.

It started really early in the morning with portrait sessions with all the girls and their families.

Natasha very proudly told me that her hair band was made by her family member that was visiting from Israel

We all then moved into the Shul for the ceremony but managed to get a few more shots of the girls before it all started.

The only photo that the Shul requested, was this one with the girls and Rabbi Gerson and Dalya

And then it began…  The girls had long speeches prepared where they talked about the things they’d learnt in the last year of Dalya’s teachings.  It was very interesting for me as it was all about their culture and traditions.

And then the choir sang about the women’s role in the Friday traditions

This was my favourite part of the ceremony, where the girls got blessed by their mother’s. 

The Rabbi addressing the girls and their families and friends

The girls all got presented with certificates from the Shul and the United Hebrew Schools

And then it was celebration and singing time!  Mazel tov to all the girls and their families

After the ceremony, I took photos at the Druker family’s lunch celebrations, and those photos are coming tomorrow evening.