Chicago, Illinois Bar Mitzvahs and Jewish Events

Chicago Hotel Bar Mitzvah Downtown
Chicago Jewish Community
Illinois Hotel Bar Mitzvah Traditions

The bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah is an important rite of passage for boys and girls in the Jewish community. It's the commencement of taking on the responsibilities of adulthood, a true coming of age. In Chicago, Illinois, there are several resources for Jewish families who seek to celebrate their children's bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, particularly in downtown.

Chicago Bar/Bat Mitzvah Downtown -

The Avenue Crowne Plaza Hotel and Suites Chicago Downtown is well suited for hosting bar and bat mitzvahs, which are important, exciting, and joyous events. We offer 18,000 square feet of combined flexible meeting space, from intimate gathering spaces, to extravagant banquet rooms. In addition, our event professionals are on hand to assist with every step of the bar mitzvah planning process, from catering to audiovisual equipment. On this special day, you'll host a Chicago bar mitzvah everyone will remember.

Chicago's Jewish Community -

Members of the Jewish faith and community have been a part of Chicago, Illinois since the 1830s, when Chicago became incorporated. Some of the earliest Jewish immigrants were looking for a better life than the ones they left behind in the Old Country. Today, there are many Jewish communities in the Chicago metropolitan area and the outlying suburbs. Many Jewish families look forward to their children's bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah as a way to strengthen their sense of cultural ties and community, and to pass on beliefs and values to the next generation.

Chicago Bar Mitzvah Traditions -

For boys, reading the Torah is essential to the Bar Mitzvah rite. For most non-orthodox Jews, girls also read the Torah during their Bat Mitzvah. If that is not the case, a Bat Mitzvah girl might read a passage on a Jewish topic or recite sections from the Book of Psalms or the Book of Esther. Almost always there's a celebratory dinner with delicious traditional Jewish foods, and the party can be as lavish as the child's family wishes. Gifts are given to the celebrant and guests often receive party favors. Videographers, photographers, florists, balloonists, bands, DJs, special Jewish bakeries—all of these have to be considered to make a bar/bat mitzvah truly special.