EVAN CARAVELLI/Arizona Daily Wildcat Bar and bat mitzvah candidates study the passages they will recite during a practice session yesterday at the Hillel Center as their instructor, Amy Lederman, explains the structure of the ceremony.

What would it take for college students to go to class without receiving academic credit? For five students, gaining a better understanding of their religious beliefs is worth much more.

Since August, the students have met at the Hillel Foundation every Monday afternoon for an hour and a half in preparation for a ceremony most Jewish people complete before they become teenagers.

This Saturday, four women and one man will participate in the first b'nei mitzvah ceremony offered by the Hillel Foundation.

Known as a bar mitzvah for boys and a bat mitzvah for girls, a b'nei mitzvah is a combination of the two ceremonies.

"Bar or bat mitzvah means son or daughter of the covenant respectively," said Shara Grifenhagen, program director for Hillel.

When Naomi Brandis and Sarah Strand said they were interested in having their bat mitzvahs, Jaime Fogel, a Judaic studies senior and mutual friend, suggested they have them together and mentioned the idea to Michelle Blumenberg, executive director of Hillel.

Although most of the students are in their 20s, Amy Lederman, a Tucson community Jewish educator, said many Jewish people have belated bar or bat mitzvahs.

"People in their 80s have been bar mitzvahed," she said. "It's not common, but it can be done, and it's sometimes more meaningful when you wait. That's what's amazing. Each of these students chose to do this."

In August, Blumenberg asked Lederman if she would be interested in teaching a class designed specifically to train UA students for their bar or bat mitzvahs.

"It's very exciting for us because I have wanted to offer this for years," Blumenberg said.

Lederman, who teaches about Jewish history, literature, ethics, law and spirituality, said this is the first time she has organized such a class.

With the help of her friend Marlene Burns, who tutors children for their bar or bat mitzvahs, Lederman taught the students how to read and chant portions of the Torah in Hebrew.

Though Lederman has been working with the students since last semester, she said Burns joined them in January.

For the b'nei mitzvah, each student will read from the Torah (the first five books of the Jewish Bible), a practice preceded and followed by several prayers or blessings. They will also share personal reflections of their spirituality in a speech.

Lederman said the experience has been joyous because students are able to learn about their religion and explore their relationships with God. It also provided her the opportunity to grow in her own spirituality, she said.

Though her parents gave her the option of having a bat mitzvah, Brandis, 21 and a political science junior, said growing up in a small New Mexico town that lacked a Jewish community made her apathetic toward Judaism.

"In the last couple of years, I have developed a strong connection to Judaism, and I desired to learn more about Judaism in order to increase my knowledge as well as my connection," she said.

Brandis was not alone.

When her parents gave her and her two younger sisters the option of having their bat mitzvahs, Strand also declined.

"I didn't have many Jewish friends, so I really didn't care about it," Strand said.

Now 22, Strand, a Judaic studies senior, said she regrets her decision upon learning more about her religion.

"I am glad that I was given the opportunity to choose for myself, especially since it will make doing it at this age much more meaningful than it would have been at 13," she said.

Inspired by her sister, Michelle Strand, 19, is also glad to be having her bat mitzvah at an age when it has more meaning to her.

"I would only have been doing it because I was supposed to," said Michelle Strand, a biology freshman. "Now I am doing it because Judaism is so important to me, and I truly want to have my bat mitzvah to prove my faith."

Michelle Strand said her sister also inspired her to do several other things, including attending the UA.

As the only man in the group, Dan Orenstein, 22, was raised by a Catholic mother and a Jewish father who offered to send him to Hebrew school as a kid, but he declined.

In high school, Orenstein, a political science senior, said he became more immersed in the Jewish faith and community.

"When the opportunity arose to commemorate this involvement, I took advantage," he said. "I'd been considering taking this step for several years."

Raised by a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, Allison Salazar, 20, also chose to learn more about Judaism.

"I wasn't raised in any religion and when the opportunity arose in Hillel, I couldn't pass it up," she said. "It was a chance to reclaim something I thought was only for 13-year-olds."

Salazar, a history sophomore, said her grandmother prompted her to have a late bat mitzvah, which encouraged her to learn more about Judaism.

"On our own time, we would have to study our Torah portions and parts of the service that were important," Salazar said. "I can't exactly say how much time it took, because I, and I'm sure that my classmates will agree, had to find time to learn all of this in between classes, papers and exams not to mention social lives. But I can confidently say that we all spent quite a bit of time preparing for this."

The b'nei mitzvah takes place at the Hillel Foundation at 10 a.m. Saturday. All the students have invited friends and family to the ceremony, which is open to everyone and free of charge.

Following the b'nei mitzvah will be a Kiddush lunch instead of a large party, which usually follows a standard bar or bat mitzvah.

"All of us have exams and papers to write, as well as families coming from out of town that we need to spend time with," Salazar said. "There really isn't time to plan a big party."