Confirmation

Saturday my 2010-2011 confirmation class graduated. It was a wonderful ceremony, with thought provoking speeches and lots of festivity.
I have been co-teaching the Confirmation class at my synagogue for the past four years. Truthfully, the curriculum is directed by another and I just help get the conversation ball rolling if that needs to happen. I have learned so much from the material that we discuss and I really like to do it with 16 year olds who are going to face these choices in the not-so-distant future.
Where did post-B'nai Mitzvah education come from? In the early 1800s in Germany, Judaism’s Reform Movement instituted the ceremony of confirmation based on the belief that a 16-year-old is more equipped than a 13-year-old to affirm his Jewish identity. So while a 13 year old is an adult, they are not an educated adult, and confirmation is a way to learn about the jewish approach to adult decisions.
The first confirmation ceremony in the United States took place in 1846. Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise officiated over this confirmation service in a Reform temple in Albany, New York. By the end of the 19th century, the ceremony had become widespread in Reform communities.
Confirmation classes teach young adult Jews that they are entering a community in which they can question, challenge, and debate Jewish questions without being judged. The confirmation model also encourages youth to work together as a community to contribute to the world around them.
Whereas bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies tend to be something orchestrated by the parent, confirmation ceremonies are about the emerging young adult, and focuses on confirming their commitment to Judaism and Jewish living.