NEW YORK (JTA) — Residents of a Cincinnati retirement community will travel to Israel to celebrate their b’nai mitzvah.
Nine residents of the Cedar Village Jewish Retirement Community, along with two rabbis, 13 staff members and a resident’s family member, are set to leave Oct. 12 for a 10-day b’nai mitzvah mission to Israel.
The residents, whose average age is 86, and four staff members will become bar and bat mitzvah at Robinson’s Arch in Jerusalem on Oct. 15, followed by a luncheon and tree planting.
The entire b’nai mitzvah celebration will be streamed live for public viewing.
"What makes this trip special and unique is that no one has ever done a b’nai mitzvah mission with seniors in Israel," said Carol Silver Elliott, Cedar Village CEO and president.
In Israel, the Cedar Village residents and their staff will have an intense schedule of travel and mitzvot, including Masada, Netanya, Haifa and the Golan.
For friends and family in Ohio, the Cedar Village group will be posting pictures and videos of their experiences throughout the trip on social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter and Blogger. The group can be followed at www.cedarvillage.org.
