Postponing our daughters B’Not Mitzvah was not something we could’ve ever imagined, as I am sure everyone else going through this, is thinking right now. We know we are not alone in this, so that makes it a little easier. As we continued to plan and prepare for our much anticipated May 23rd B’Not Mitzvah, Covid-19 arrived in Minnesota.
We belong to Temple Israel and our 1st family meeting with Rabbi Hartman was moved online as Temple Israel closed. We decided to mail our invitations and hope for the best. In the course of about 1 week, schools were closed and decisions had to be made.
First, we were told that we could select a new date, but our May 23rd date was not yet canceled. As we have many out of town guests, we started to wonder about what to do even if Temple reopened and we were able to move ahead with the service as planned. We talked with friends who had dates close to ours and asked what others were doing. Our hotel informed us that they would not be able to accommodate events over 50 people through the end of May due to Covid-19, which then made the decision easy for us.
With that news and Covid-19 spreading rapidly, we decided to notify our guests via email, that with a heavy heart we would be postponing the B’Not Mitzvah until the fall (when we are hopeful this would be behind us). We notified vendors and starting asking about availability for fall dates.
Through conversations with Temple Israel and our vendors, we are now planning a fall Mitzvah. Since our invitations have already gone out, we are exploring online options for invitations to keep our guests engaged and informed. We have rescheduled and the excitement continues.
Written By Jenni Friedman
