The Bar Mitzvah and Beast

April 16, 2012
When his son Yonah refuses to have a Bar Mitzvah, self-described "liberal Jew" Biers-Ariel (Spirit in Nature: Teaching Judaism and Ecology on the Trail) comes up with another way to celebrate coming of age: the whole familyâYonah, the author, wife Djina, and younger son Solomonâcycles 3,804 miles from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. "As that poem in the Reform Judaism prayer book says, it's the journey, not the destination, that counts," Biers-Ariel points out. And this expedition is multilayered: the quartet bears a climate change petition to deliver to Congress, Yonah and his father have lengthy debates about atheism and God, and the author and Solomon share a heavy, unreliable tandem bike dubbed The Beast. But riding across the country is, by its nature, repetitive; there are climbs and descents, lots of Gatorade, breakdowns both mechanical and familial, bad food, hot weather, and encounters with people "more complicatedâ¦than their stereotypes lead you to believe." As a consequence, the material feels limited and the author's humor borders on shtick, with numerous jokes about beer and being a cheapskate. And while America's wonders and quirks are featured in abundance, the language is sometimes forced. When the family dips their front wheels into the Reflecting Pond at the Lincoln Memorial, it's a relief for all concerned.

April 1, 2014

Jewish or not, many teens will identify with conflicted 13-year-old Yonah, who rejects a traditional bar mitzvah. Instead, his family creates its own rite of passage: a 3,804-mile bicycle ride from the Pacific coast to Washington, DC. With a growing number of teens coming from multicultural backgrounds, resources on crafting an individually meaningful celebration can only become more important. For a fictional take on teens finding their own paths, try Paula J. Freedman's My Basmati Bat Mitzvah.

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