Wording library
Bar and bat mitzvah
wording.
Two events, often two guest lists, and several details no other occasion has. Practice varies between families and communities — these are conventions, not rules.
How do you word a bar or bat mitzvah invitation?
The parents invite; the child is named, often with their Hebrew name; the synagogue and service time are given, then the celebration separately. Many families include the Hebrew date and the Torah portion. Where the service and the party have different guest lists, they need different cards — not one card with a footnote.
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The wording.
Rachel and David Shapiroinvite you to worship with themas their daughterNoa Shapirois called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah
"Called to the Torah" is the conventional phrasing. "Worship with them" signals that this invitation is to the service.
Shabbat morning, the fourteenth of Junethe twenty-second of Sivan, 5787Parashat Sh'lach
A line of its own beneath the date. Common, and appreciated by guests who will look it up.
and afterwardsto celebrate with dinner and dancingat the Roundhouse, seven o'clock
If the party list is larger or smaller than the service list — which is usual — send the two as separate cards.
I'm becoming a Bat Mitzvah.Please come and celebrate with my family and me.Noa
Increasingly common, and appropriate for an occasion that is explicitly about a child taking on adult responsibility.
Practice varies, and this page does not settle it. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist communities differ on wording, on the Hebrew date, and on whether the child hosts. Your synagogue is the authority on your family's practice — ask them before printing.
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Common questions
Do we include the Hebrew date?
How far ahead?
Separate cards for service and party?
A suite that carries the whole day.
Service card, party invitation, sign-in board, place cards and favours — designed together for one occasion.
See bar and bat mitzvah design