Editor’s note: This is part four of a four-part series of celebrations that was printed in the January/February 2025 issue of Bethesda Magazine.
The teen: Jack Spiegel, 14, lives in Gaithersburg. He has a sister, Dalia, 12. His parents are Rachael Spiegel, a photographer who specializes in bar and bat mitzvahs, and Ryan Spiegel, a state delegate for District 17.
The mother: Rachael has been a photographer since graduating from Syracuse University in 2002. She snapped her first mitzvah in 2003 and eventually decided to focus on this rite of passage. “Out of everything I photograph, it brings me the most joy,” says Rachael, whose mother was a mitzvah planner. She has captured 239 bar and bat mitzvahs—but didn’t want to photograph Jack’s, preferring to be in the moment.
The preparation: Because she starts booking three years out for work, Rachael had to set the date for Jack’s bar mitzvah just as early, settling on Dec. 16, 2023. She quickly began tapping vendors—aka the “friendors” she works with regularly. Among them: Mickey Rubinstein, head designer and shop manager with DaVinci Florist; Glynis Keith, catering manager at Catering by Seasons; and planner Dana Nestel, founder of The Write Occasion. A vendor Rachael didn’t already know was the photographer. A friend recommended Ricardo Reyes, and Rachael was sold. “His lighting was spot-on, and he captured moments beautifully,” she says.
The service: The bar mitzvah was held at Shaare Torah, a synagogue in Gaithersburg. It started at 9 a.m., and was led by Rabbis Annie Lewis and Yosef Goldman. A kiddush luncheon with the congregation was held afterward.
The reception: The Julia P. Bindeman Suburban Center of Washington Hebrew Congregation in Potomac was the venue for the reception, attended by 80 adults and 70 of Jack’s friends. (He’s a student at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville.) Rachael and Ryan wanted the celebration’s focus to be on Jack, his personality and his Judaism, rather than a theme. The design aesthetic was inspired by Jack’s passion for coding and STEM. Ali Weitzman, founder of MitzvahLogos, came up with a logo and pixel pattern that was the basis for the decor and blue-and-green color scheme. The floor decal, “Jack” signage and pillows featured Weitzman’s graphics. (Rachael created layouts for the menu, escort cards and invitations based on Weitzman’s design.)
The centerpieces: Rubinstein used metal geometric pieces that were spray-painted gold and connected together. They achieved an element important to Jack—that guests could see each other across the tables—and were mixed with structural florals such as parrot tulips, green cocculus, green echeveria and green dianthus.
The music: NYX Entertainment & Events provided the tunes and the emcee. “At a mitzvah, you have two sets of people on the dance floor,” Rachael says. “The adults and the kids, both of whom like completely different things. So to be able to select music and play for two audiences at the same time is difficult.” NYX impressed all the kids, including Jack. “It was really nice to have all my friends together and be able to dance and celebrate and have a fun space,” he says.
The games: A 14-foot foosball table allowed the kids to play games (and made the nondancers in the crowd happy). Other fun came by way of Skee-Ball and a photo booth.
The photo montage: For Rachael, putting together a slideshow of Jack was a highlight. It took about a year to pull her favorite photos and then about 120 finalists. Only Rachael saw it before the party, where it was displayed on a large LED screen.
The menu: Much like the music, the food at a mitzvah varies for the kids and the adults, says Keith. And flexibility is key, considering how far in advance the planning begins and how much tastes change in that time—particularly if you’re 11 going on 13. Because the Spiegels keep kosher and Jack is a pescatarian, Catering by Seasons went with a kosher-style menu with no meat or shellfish. The food could “be enjoyed by all the guests,” Keith says. Adult appetizers ranged from edamame dumplings to fig tarts. The youths snacked on cheese quesadillas, pretzel bites, and chips and guac. And a hummus bar was created specifically for Jack’s party. For the main course, adults enjoyed roasted salmon with a grilled vegetable tart, and Jack and his buddies chose from a falafel station and pasta bar. Napkins bearing two of Jack’s favorite sayings—“Hexagons are the bestagons” and “Everything is soup”—nodded to the man of the hour.
The desserts: No one can resist a s’mores and cookie station. Guests of all ages selected their cookie flavor and then topped it with sweets such as Hershey’s chocolates and certified kosher vegan marshmallows. Each treat was torched on-site by the catering staff.
The future mitzvah: Naturally, Rachael is already planning Dalia’s bat mitzvah, set for Dec. 13, 2025. The team? All the same. “I was thrilled with every vendor we worked with,” Rachael says.
Vendors: Catering, Catering by Seasons; decor, florals and rentals, DaVinci Florist; design, Rachael Spiegel Bar & Bat Mitzvah Photography; DJ, lighting and LED screen, NYX Entertainment & Events; games, Snap Entertainment; green screen, Washington Talent; hotel block, Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center; invitations, Greenvelope; logo, branding and favors, MitzvahLogos; photographer, Ricardo Reyes Photography; photo montage, Rachel Dabbah; planning and custom napkins, The Write Occasion; venues, Shaare Torah (ceremony) and Julia P. Bindeman Suburban Center of Washington Hebrew Congregation (reception).
