Reform Jewish Congregation Ner Tamid of West Cobb recently held its first Confirmation Service, with four members, out of their class of seven, being confirmed. All seven students participate in our service, with the Torah and Haftorah read and chanted by them.
Confirmands completing their second year of Confirmation and being confirmed this year are Josh Ehrlich, Alex Goldstein, Megan McMillan and Jessica Ungar. Others in the class are Randi Epstein, Kendra Lerman, Alyssa McMillan. Next year, beyond bar or bat mitzvah, the Congregation is planning to offer two post b’nai mitzvah offerings: one for the combined eighth and ninth grades; and one for the combined tenth through 12th grades. Students can be confirmed when they finish their second year beyond bar or bat mitzvah. The students’ primary Confirmation teacher this year was Mr. Reuven Milikovsky.
Confirmation was originally initiated about two hundred years ago, at the time of our Jewish festival of Shavuot which celebrates the “Giving of the Torah” at Mt. Sinai, to keep Jewish students involved in formal Jewish education beyond Bar Mitzvah. By 1815, girls were being confirmed enabling them to advance their Jewish knowledge into their teenage years. Rabbi Thomas Liebschutz, said at the service that “Confirmation reminds us of our loyalty to and being part of the Jewish people. Confirmation, a group ceremony, unites us with our people, G-d and culture in ways that enhance and extend B’nai Mitzvah. Confirmation is a vital part of who we are and why Congregation Ner Tamid offers it to our Religious School students.”
Find out what's happening in West Cobbfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Twice-monthly Shabbat and High Holy Day services, as well as weekly Religious School classes for age five and up are held in various West Cobb locations. For more about Congregation Ner Tamid, member Union for Reform Judaism, established in 2006, including our Religious School Open House on Sunday, August 4, visit www.mynertamid.org, e-mail education@mynertamid.org or call Principal Heidi Meyer at 678-264-8575 to schedule an individual appointment.