Our students’ passage into Jewish adulthood does not end with the Bet Mitzvah. Confirmation is a Jewish ceremony generally unique to Reform synagogues that dates back to the early 19th century. At B’nai Israel, the Confirmation experience, which takes place during the students’ sophomore year, is integrated with Merkaz, the community’s Hebrew high school. The students partake in numerous learning and study opportunities with the Rabbis Evan Schultz and Sarah Marion and Education Director Alexa Cohen, culminating in a year-end service orchestrated and led by the students themselves. 
A highlight is the class trip to Washington D.C., coordinated with the URJ’s Religious Action Center. It is our hope and expectation that all Bet Mitzvah remain in religious school through, at least, Confirmation.
Confirmation represents an important moment in the life of our teens and of our congregation. Photos of classes going back to 1915 (although B’nai Israel likely began celebrating Confirmation earlier) hold a place of honor on the wall outside the temple library. Our rabbis say that when they have an appointment with a couple who is about to get married, they often find them in that hallway, with one fiance showing the other their class picture!
By the end of 10th grade, we believe students have been asking important questions for a while and finding the answers they can use to connect with their Jewish community and to Judaism in general. During the Confirmation year, they spend part of each night at Merkaz (the weekly community high school for Jewish studies) with one another and Rabbi Schultz exploring a variety of issues — many of their own choosing.
An annual highlight is the class trip to the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism’s L’taken Seminar in Washington, D.C., Students spend four days in our Nation’s Capital with more than 200 other teens from Reform congregations across the United States, learning about how lobbying impacts lawmaking and how Jewish values can guide us in determining how we should advocate for different causes with our elected representatives.
They explore 12 to 15 different issues from the perspectives of both public policy and Jewish values. The students prepare speeches, and on the concluding Monday, they go up to Capitol Hill and argue their beliefs with congressional aides from the Connecticut delegation. Every once in a while, one of our Senators or our Congressman have joined in the conversation. Our teens are taken very seriously. The experience is exhilarating, and it serves to bond the members of the class more closely with one another. It also has led to a few careers in government!
The final effort of the class is the service of Confirmation. Students design and lead the service with varied contributions, including giving readings, offering personal insights and playing music.
To learn more about the Confirmation class and how your teen can participate, contact Rabbi Schultz or Alexa Cohen.
It is a wonderful, joyful celebration as these young men and women say “count me in” to the Covenant.