From Generation to Generation, Los Angeles Bar Mitzvah

One of the highlights of Bar/Bat Mitzvah photography is seeing the joy the older generation exhibit when watching young 13-year-old children step up to the Bima and read from the Torah. In this case, it was Dakota's Bar Mitzvah over the weekend at Congregation Tikvat Jacob in Manhattan Beach, where beloved great-grandfather "Poppy," got up from his seat, put down his cane, and took his place up on the Bima. He handed the talit to Dakota, and was at the head of the line for passing the Torah down, from generation to generation. The cool thing, as you can see from these images, is that Dakota got as much of a kick from having Poppy there as the old man did.
Dakota and mom Lisa (also seen posing in a killer shot from the sanctuary) put on a terrific baseball themed party (Dakota kind of enjoys sports!) at the Spanish styled Embassy Suites in El Segundo. (Attention Bar/Bat Mitzvah parents--this is one really special facility. We'll post more images from the event later in the week. In the meantime, ask for Deb and tell her we sent `ya.) You Should Be Dancing did their usual stellar DJ job, keeping the kids up and moving all night long.