Return to Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ideas and Primer for Interfaith Families.

Also see Sample Candlelighting Ceremony Introduction by Rabbi Peter Schweitzer.

I’d like to call up        , to light the first candle for Love–AHAVA.

May the light of love burn brightly within us all.

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I’d like to call up         to light the second candle for Community–KEHILLA.

We light this candle to symbolize the light of this congregation which invites others to share its message and joy.

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I’d like to call up         to light the third candle for Peace–SHALOM.

May the light of peace glow within our hearts, within our homes, and throughout the world.

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I’d like to call up         to light the fourth candle for Friendship–CHAVERIM.

We light this candle to give thanks for friends, old and new, close and far, who give strength, caring and fellowship to one another.

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I’d like to call up         to light the fifth candle for Making the World Better–TIKKUN OLAM.

With this candle we honor heroes and role models who contribute to making the world a better place for everyone.

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I’d like to call up         to light the sixth candle for Justice–TZEDEK.

This candle stands for fairness and equal opportunity and impartiality and equality for all.

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I’d like to call up         to light the seventh candle for Reason–BEENAH.

This candle is about rational thinking and science; about asking questions, having doubts and not taking things for granted.

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I’d like to call         to light the eighth candle for Charity–TZEDAKA.

This candle lights the way to helping others and causes that are in need of our assistance and support.

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I’d like to call up         to light the ninth candle for Joy–SIMCHA.

We light this candle to celebrate laughter and humor and the joy that comes from being alive and kvelling at each other’s simchas or times of happiness.

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I’d like to call up         to light the tenth candle for Wisdom–CHACHMA.

With this candle we honor all the teachers who have shared knowledge and wisdom with us.

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I’d like to call up         to light the eleventh candle for Memory–ZIKARON.

This candle is lit in memory of deceased relatives and friends who influenced our lives and whose memory we honor with our own good deeds.

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I’d like to call up my parents to light the twelfth candle for Family–MISHPACHA.

This candle is for everyone in our extended family, from coast to coast, who give us joy by sharing this day of celebration in our lives.

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We would now like to call up bar/bat mitzvah to light the thirteenth candle for Hope–TIKVA.

This final candle symbolizes possibility. It stands for the future.

Of what she can become and who she will be.

Of how she can live a life of happiness and fulfillment.

Of how she can live out the values and teachings which she dedicates herself to today.

The Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ideas and Primer for Interfaith Families is also available as a PDF document.