36 year old man who converted to Judaism is having a bar mitzvah in a few weeks. What would be an appropriate gesture to mark this important milestone? We are not Jewish, so don’t want to make a faux pas.
Hmmm. I think it’s harder for a guy honestly. ( so many nice jewelry ideas for women). I’d probably do a charitable donation in their honor. Like to this organization https://mazon.org/
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A typical gift for b’nai mitzvah is money in multiples of $18 – in Hebrew numerology 18 spells the word “chai” which means “life.” Other common appropriate gifts are useful/decorative keepsakes like nice wooden boxes, jewelry, et cetera. Judaica (nice mezuzah, Magen David necklace) is also appropriate but might be tricky to pick out since you’re not Jewish.
Also seconding @maya54, both on the donation idea and that specific organization!
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@Nrdsb4 if you do opt for a charitable donation please make in increments of $18. Multiples of this number are considered good luck and are often used in gift giving.
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I was also going to suggest a donation with the amount in an increment of 18. The charity listed above would work but if you know of any charity the Bar Mitzvah gentleman is involved with or particularly likes I would donate to that.
If you don’t like the idea of a donation perhaps some nice wine (I’d deliver to the house rather than bring to the Bar Mitzvah), a gift card to a favorite restaurant, or something like that.
Your question is very considerate. IMO the best gift will be your attendance at this event.
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It is, but I think that part is over. 
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I liked all the suggestions. It all depends on how much you want to spend. There are lots of Judica stores online or maybe where you live. They would be very happy to suggest somethings for you. Gold is expensive now. We just bought my sons GF that just converted a small Jewish Star… Pricey but nice.
It’s a nice gesture BTW.
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Ask him his Hebrew name- lots of people on Etsy who will crochet a yarmulke with his name worked into the pattern. You can search “custom yarmulke” or “custom Kippah” or “name Kippah” or some variant thereof.
But a donation to charity is NEVER wrong. In addition to Mazon- which does great work- there is an organization which runs a few soup kitchens in NYC-- Masbia-- which has expanded into disaster relief. There were some incredible news stories about them setting up shop after the tornadoes in Kentucky- by the time the bigger relief organizations got there, Masbia had a field kitchen and was serving hot meals to both the residents and the first responders. And last year when there was a terrible fire in the Bronx, Masbia was doing meals and collecting coat donations before the Red Cross even got there.
You are a good friend!!!
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I went ahead and made a donation to Mazon (in $18 increments) in his name, but I will put Masbia on our list of chartible donations for 2022-we always make them in December.
Thanks for the tip.
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Thanks to you all! I knew I could count on a good suggestion from the folks here. 
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FYI, Mazon is one of our charities of choice, because it has extremely low administrative costs, leaving most of the money going towards feeding the hungry poor.
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