News & Announcements

We are so proud to have FIVE PJTC youth becoming B'nai Mitzvah to kick off this Jewish new year! Please take a moment to get to know these special community members before joining them on their very special days.

Aidan Artz

Aidan was born and raised in Chicago until moving to Los Angeles in August 2019. He attends eighth grade at La Canada High School. In school, social studies fascinates him while he loves being challenged by English. Aidan has boundless energy. Despite his Chicago roots, he enjoys plain cheese pizza, adores the family dog (Princess), and covertly adores his younger siblings. For Aidan’s Mitvah project, he has advocated over the past year to start an “Eye to Eye” mentoring program at school to empower children with learning differences. Aidan has a passion for sports including soccer, baseball, and skiing; however, flag football recently emerged as a new favorite. Despite his parents’ misgivings, he aspires to play high school football. For COVID safe leisure, Aidan enjoys reading and video gaming with friends.

Sofia Manacker

Sofia Jordan Manacker, daughter of Erin and Jason Manacker, will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah on October 16th, 2021. She is in the 8th grade at Sierra Madre Middles School where she is active in their chorus elective. She is an member of USY, and has served on Kadima Committee for the past two years. In her spare time, Sofia loves singing, dancing, anything Disney or Marvel, and musical theater. She also enjoys working as a babysitter and pet-sitter. She feels that this has provided a great introduction to possibly working with children in the future. For her Mitzvah project Sofia has decided to work with the children of B’nai Simcha preschool to create Rosh Hashanah cards to deliver to the “Jewish Home for the Aging", in Reseda.

Mena Schmidt

Mena Chana Schmidt will become a B’Mitzvah at PJTC on October 23, 2021.  They are in 8^th grade at Sierra Madre Middle School and enjoy hanging out with friends as much as possible both in person and virtually.  They have a wicked sense of humor and personal style. They have made many lasting friends in the PJTC community these last 10 years and remain friends with many of their B’nai Simcha classmates.

We all look forward to celebrating them with our families from east of the Mississippi River and friends closer to home.  Mena is the child of Cecil and Rachel Schmidt.

Sophie Bilu

Sophie Bilu, daughter of Avi Bilu and Stacie Sulak and younger sister to Ella, will be called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah on October 30. Sophie spent two joy-filled years at Weizmann Day School before attending LBSRS. Sophie is a 7th grader at Marshall Fundamental in Pasadena. In the summer, Sophie swims competitively for Gerrish Swim Club. She plays USYVL volleyball and plans to play for Marshall this year. Sophie has always had a passion for drama and has performed in numerous productions since she was 5 years old. Sophie is enthusiastic about movie makeup and tries to freak everyone out by applying realistic looking wounds. Sophie also loves spending time at the pool, hanging out with her cat Larry, baking, shopping and gaming with her friends. For her mitzvah project, Sophie will be picking up trash at Eaton Canyon along with her sister. She also helped Ella make informative posters.

Ella Bilu

Ella Bilu, daughter of Avi Bilu and Stacie Sulak and older sister to Sophie, will be called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah on October 30. Ella spent four joy-filled years at Weizmann Day School before attending LBSRS. Ella returned to LBSRS this year as a TA for Kitah Vav and as a member of the USY board. Ella is a 9th grader at Westridge School for Girls in Pasadena, where she plays on the golf and soccer teams and writes for the school newspaper. Ella has a love of sports, both playing and spectating. Playing soccer since she was 5 years old, Ella continues to play with the AYSO All Stars. In the summer, she swims competitively for Gerrish Swim Club. Ella is also an active Girl Scout Cadette and just completed her Silver Award. For her mitzvah project, Ella dedicated herself to environmental education. She designed and shared informative Instagram posts about pressing issues on our planet. She created two patch programs for her fellow Girl Scouts so they could learn more about deforestation and trash. Additionally, she published an opinion piece regarding climate change and made posters to educate classmates.