Are any immersion courses available for someone that never had a bat mitzvah...and at age 50 is this feasible?
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1Yes, there are and yes, it is but rather than relying on a bunch of internet strangers, why not ask around your local synagogues until you find a rabbi both willing and able to explain all the details in a way that works for you?– Robbie GoodwinCommented Nov 27, 2023 at 22:15
3 Answers
Welcome and congratulations on your search and efforts!
First and foremost you should approach the rabbi in a local synagogue or Chabad house.
Beyond that, there is a wonderful organization called NJOP which developed classes which are delivered in hundreds of synagogues across the US and Canada, specifically they have a Crash Course in Basic Judaism, Hebrew Reading Crash Course and Crash Course in Jewish History.
There is no prescribed format for a bat mitsva in Orthodox Judaism, but it might include giving a short dvar Torah at a community Shabbat to celebrate a program of learning you have devised. More important, it should be the starting point of a lifelong learning journey and life of practice. Mazal tov !
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4Many institutions of Jewish learning are totally geared towards adult education. Good luck!– ShalomCommented Nov 20, 2023 at 23:25
In contemporary Judaism, immersion in a Mikveh is only required for women, after menstruation, before they resume marital relations.
Immersion in a Mikveh is also a component of the conversion process, wherein a non-Jew converts to Judaism, and becomes a full-fledged Jew.
Someone who was born Jewish, and does not engage in marital relations, is not required to immerse themselves in a Mikveh.
Menopausal women, who have not immersed in the Mikveh since their last period, must immerse in the Mikveh, before engaging in marital relations. Once they have immersed in the Mikveh, they most likely will never need to attend the Mikveh for the rest of their lives, unless certain Halachic issues present themselves.
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12I think she meant "immersion course" as in you're fully immersed in the experience the whole time (like many excellent foreign-language programs), not literally water immersion in a mikvah. But we may have misread.– ShalomCommented Nov 21, 2023 at 16:39
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@Shalom Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I'm totally unfamiliar with the phrase as you described it. I thought she was referring to something like a pre-baptismal course, and that she thought that Judaism also required a similar ceremony in order to have a "Bat-Mitzvah''. Commented Nov 21, 2023 at 22:15