Temple Beth Orr hosted on June 4 its annual Confirmation Shabbat Service
conducted by the high school sophomores who continued their religious
studies three years beyond their bar or bat mitzvah and met this milestone
of achievement. The 2010 confirmation class consists of: Dakota Demato,
Sarah Fine, Aaron Fox-Snider, Karli Gold, Daniel Harrison, Lauren Kandell,
Alexander Kaplan, Allen Klein, Sammi LaRosa, Jennifer Levick, David Nassau,
Jared Tromer, Adam Weiss, and Leah Weiss. During the service, Rabbi Mark
Gross made special note of the students present who have parents, aunts and
uncles, and even grandparents who have celebrated similar milestones at
Temple Beth Orr. Each confirmand spoke about his or her commitment to Judaism and how the program has been
meaningful both religiously and socially.

Grades 6 through 10 in the Rosenberg Religious School are constituted as The Confirmation Department, with Confirmation at the end of sophomore year as the objective of our Religious Education Program.

Confirmation, or Qiyyum ha-B'rit ("fulfilling the Covenant"), is an educational and experiential milestone allowing our young adults who have grown up together in the synagogue setting to make a joint declaration of identity and of commitment.  Candidates attend our unique "partnership program" in the communal Judaica High School, participating in their choice of sophomore electives with their age-mates from area synagogues the first hour, and then attending their Confirmation core class with Rabbi Gross as instructor during the second hour.

The Retreat weekend (in recent years we have taken our candidates on a cruise to the Bahamas, where we are the special guests of the Freeport Jewish community) is an important part of the group-building process.

The academic year culminates in Confirmation Shabbat, which we always hold on the first Friday night in June, and which is a major event in Congregational life.