Choosing a gift for a bar or bat mitzvah can be really simple or really complicated.

The simple method is to write a check and forget about it. You know it will be appreciated; money always is. And it's easy to either carry or mail.

But if you are the type of person who likes to give meaningful and relevant gifts, you will search high and low for a piece of Judaica or something else that will interest the teen.

If your goal is to emphasize the young person's responsibilities as a Jewish adult — and isn't that what the bar-bat mitzvah is about? — you can do it with a gift that emphasizes the Jewish value of tzedakah.

Purchasing a life membership in a Jewish organization will introduce the importance of giving to others and at the same time help out the Jewish community.

Being a life member in an organization means one's dues are paid for one's lifetime. The organization benefits by having a name on its role permanently and being able to invest the larger sum of money to do the most good possible.

Here is a sample of possible organizations to get you started: