Seudat mitzvah 7:37). It is customary at a "bar mitzvah" meal for parents to give thanks and praise to God for giving them the merit to raise a child to "bar mitzvah" and to educate him in the ways of Torah and the commandments. Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef holds that a Bat Mitzvah is also a seudat mitzvah. Based on the Talmud and Midrash, the "seudah" celebration upon the completion of a Talmudic tractate is considered a "seudat mitzvah" ("Yam Shel Shlomo", "Bava Kamma", "Merubah" 37; "Maharam Mintz" 119; "Shach", "Yoreh De'ah" 246:37). This "seudah" is made to rejoice over the accomplishment, and
City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism the Association of Humanistic Rabbis and is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Humanistic Judaism. He also contributes the Humanistic perspective to Moment Magazine's "Ask the Rabbi" column. Among his writings are: "The Liberated Haggadah: A Passover Celebration for Cultural, Secular and Humanistic Jews" (The Center for Cultural Judaism, 2006), "The Guide for a Humanistic Bar/Bat Mitzvah" (The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, 2003), and "A Modern Lamentation: A Memorial to 9/11" (The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, Rosh Hashanah, 2002). Rabbi Schweitzer is also recognized for the major collection of Jewish Americana that he amassed over