The Bat Mitzvah Club of Rome closed out its year with a deeply moving end-of-year ceremony — the first under a new name, The Bernstein Bat Mitzvah Club. An invisible thread of generosity and belonging now runs from Florida all the way to Rome.
The new name comes from the Bernstein family of Miami. In Rome to celebrate their son’s Bar Mitzvah, they felt such a strong bond with the community that they wanted the joy of that day to live on as a gift to the young women of Rome.
Led by Rivkie Lazar, the Club has always been more than a place to study. It’s a home for identity, where girls come to learn, make friends, and grow up together into Jewish adulthood — and out of that shared year grows a real sisterhood, one that shines brightest at the year-end ceremony.
One story says it all. A mother who moved from Brazil to settle just outside Rome never missed a single meeting, bringing her daughter each time at real personal sacrifice. Along the way she found friendship, and something more: her one true connection to Jewish life. It’s a small reminder of how much this place means, far beyond its walls.
One by one, the girls took the stage to share what they’d learned. Then came the most touching moment of all — the candle lighting, each girl kindling her own light beside her mother, two generations in a single flame. The certificates followed, and finally the blessing the parents gave their children, filling the room with quiet emotion.
With its new name and a tenth anniversary on the horizon, the Bernstein Bat Mitzvah Club remains a cornerstone of inspiration for the next generation of Jewish women in Rome.
