Preparing for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah is a major undertaking for any family. The planning process starts at least two years in advance. There is so much to do: pick the date; rent the hall; hire the caterer, the photographer, the entertainer; make up the guest list, etc., etc.
To add to all that, there is a tradition at Temple Akiba that each Bar/Bat Mitzvah family makes up it's own siddur (prayer book) for the ceremony. Now you have find the prayers in Hebrew, type in the English text, insert Jewish graphics, etc. etc. The purpose of this page is to help in this process. Below you will find several resources to help you.
In the first section are 2 examples of Bar Mitzvah siddurs. These siddurs are in Adobe PDF format, and you will need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader program installed on your computer to view them. If you don't already have it, you can download the program for free from Adobe's web site: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
The second section has most, if not all, of the Hebrew prayers used in the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony at Temple Akiba. These prayers were scanned as JPEG graphics. To view an individual prayer, click on the prayer name. To download the graphic, place your mouse pointer over the name of the prayer and click with the right mouse button. If you're using Internet Explorer, click on "Save Picture As..." (if you're using Netscape, click on "Save Image As...",) then navigate to (or create) a directory and click on "Save."
The third section has some links to sites where you can download Jewish graphics, either for free or for a fee.
One last resource that's quite amazing. www.bible.ort.org has Torah and Haftorah portions for each Sabbath. The portions are broken up by readings (aliyahs,) and include the Hebrew text (with and without vowels), English translation and transliteration. It even includes sound files of the portion chanted in Hebrew! Best of all - it's free!!
The process of creating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah siddur is an activity that can bring a family together or drive it crazy. With a little help, and an early start, there's no reason for it not to be the former.
Sample Bar/Bat Mitzvah Siddurs
Hebrew Prayers used in the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ceremony.
Jewish Graphics
If you've already looked at the sample sidurs, you've seen that the use of Judaic graphics/clip art can have a significant effect on the overall look and visual effect of the sidur. Here are links to sites where you can find Jewish themed graphics. Some are free. Some are for sale. To download free images, follow the same procedure as for the Hebrew prayers.