First published 2023
This guidebook transforms the traditional bat mitzvah into a vehicle for political education and community building. Editors Morgan Bassichis, Jay Saper, and Rachel Valinsky gather 36 writers, artists, scholars, and activists to address questions that connect Jewish coming of age rituals to contemporary social justice movements. The contributors tackle fundamental questions about identity and belonging, from basic queries like "What even is a Bat Mitzvah?" to more complex explorations such as "What do Palestinian kids do when they turn thirteen?" Angela Y. Davis provides the foreword, while Nicole Eisenman contributes illustrations. The book aims to ground young Jews in what the editors call the Jewish radical tradition while encouraging readers to examine Zionism critically and build solidarity with Palestinians. Contributors include artists, rabbis, scholars, and activists who offer personal reflections alongside political analysis. The collection serves multiple audiences, welcoming queer, nonbinary, secular, older, and non-Jewish readers into conversations typically reserved for Jewish teenagers approaching their bat mitzvah.
Genres: politics, non-fiction, activism, jewish
Vibes: educational, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: community-building, political-education
Setting: Palestine
Period: Contemporary
103 pages · Paperback · Wendy's Subway/Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University/Instit
Content warnings: colonialism, racism