FSU’s Jewish Youth Movement, EnerJew, has announced the opening of a brand-new Bar/Bat Mitzvah project for boys aged 13 and girls aged 12. Entitled UPGRADE, the new project will consist of a series of ten innovative and exciting preparation classes, special shabbatons, and unique gifts.

With thousands of Jewish teenage members in over 50 branches in 8 former Soviet Union countries, the EnerJew Jewish Youth Movement has become the vibrant center of Jewish life for youth across the region.

“We invest lots of effort,” says EnerJew’s director Konstantin Shulman “to make sure that every Jewish teenager in the former Soviet Union will feel at home, welcomed and appreciated, in every activity we hold.”

“A Jewish child’s first step to adulthood,” he continues “is their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. That’s why our new program is, simply put, going to be amazing. Our teenagers, mostly from unaffiliated backgrounds, deserve to arrive at their big day thoroughly prepared and ready for the next stage of their lives as proud and committed Jews and to celebrate it in a cool atmosphere.”

The new project will consist of a series of ten exciting meetings, delivered by the movement’s coordinators and counselors, in which the teenagers will learn everything they need for their great day. They will also be taught necessary life skills and will create short creative video clips documenting the lead-up to their Bar or Bat Mitzvah.

In addition, the program will include a four-day special Bar/Bat Mitzvah shabbaton weekend in Russia or Ukraine. The shabbaton will combine unique experiences, attractions, and amusements, with lectures and classes. At its conclusion, a grand event in honor of the festive occasion will take place, in which the program’s graduates will receive personalized Bar/Bat Mitzvah gifts.

The EnerJew Bar/Bat Mitzvah Project is made possible thanks to the partnership of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS and the Meromim Foundation.