Confirmation

Believe it or not, our students actually look forward to finally being old enough to be in our Confirmation Class! Most continue with Sunday School after their B Mitzvah and see their Confirmation as the culmination of their formal Jewish learning. Confirmation meets on Sunday Mornings as part of Sunday School. 

Both 8th and 9th graders participate in the spring Confirmation service, with graduating students preparing more in-depth presentations on their personal views of religion, Judaism, and ethics. Our Confirmation service marks the graduation from Sunday School, though many of our confirmands return as classroom aides. 

Our school provides a non-theistic Jewish education for students whose families identify as Culturally Jewish, Just Jewish, Jew-ish, Jewish and . . . , Half-Jewish, Interfaith, Jews by Choice, Multicultural, Not Religious, Secular, Humanistic, Atheist, and/or Agnostic. 

A sampling of thoughtful Confirmation presentations is below.

Sample Confirmation Speeches

Religion as Theater: Good theater relies on the audience’s willing suspension of disbelief—you know that what you’re seeing is not reality, but the performance makes you feel like you’re in another world.  .  .  . However, in religion, the role of the audience is different. The curtain should never come down. Read entire speech.

Source of Evil: There have been innumerable discussions and debates about where evil comes from. I hope that one day people will understand that it doesn’t only come from broken homes and third world countries. Even more often, it comes from a part of us that wants everyone to be like us. Read entire speech.

Gandhi: Gandhi was a Hindu. His belief system included an idea of God and the creation of the universe. However, this did not prevent him from considering how humans could interact with the world and make it a better place. Read entire speech.

Choices: Oprah said that “With every experience, you alone are painting your own canvas, thought by thought, choice by choice.” My religious training has taught me to believe in my own choices, to let myself choose who I will become and let these choices mold what I believe. Read entire speech.

Learn more about our Sunday School and Confirmation Class teachers. For fun, you can also take a look at 60 Jewish Things to Do Before Your Confirmation.