This past Saturday was our son's Bar Mitzvah. Of course, we are bursting with pride at how well he did at the ceremony, capping many months of study and practice!
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it literally means "son of the commandment". Interpretively, it means more like: "one who is obligated to observe the commandments".
A Jewish boy becomes a Bar Mitzvah at the age of 13. (And Jewish girls at the age of 12). He is a full-fledged member of the Jewish community, is counted as one of the "minyan" (10 adults required for public prayers), and is now responsible for following the rules of Jewish life — the commandments.
A Bar/Bat Mitzvah "ceremony" is a regular Shabbat service, but is the first time the boy/girl participates as an adult in the service, reading/chanting from the Torah and the Haftarah, and giving a "D'var Torah", or lesson, about the topic of the portions. (Each synagogue's tradition about what the Bar/Bat Mitzvah actually does as part of the service is a little different; in our synagogue they actually lead the entire Friday night and Saturday services, as well.)
The service is usually followed by a big party for the family to celebrate with their relatives and friends. This can be as small as a luncheon afterwards, or as elaborate as a wedding!
In many congregations, Bar/Bat Mitzvah students also have a "mitzvah (or social action) project" as part of their preparations. This requirement hammers home the concept that the commandments they are obligated to observe involve not just Jewish ritual, but also social action.
Since this weekend coincided with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it seemed an appropriate topic to work into his D'var Torah speech. I'd like to share it with all of you here. (I must admit that I did help him research and compose a large portion of it; but essay writing is almost never a strong point for 13 year olds :) He did present it beautifully and in a very heartfelt manner, though!)
In the Torah portion we read today (Exodus 6:2 – 9:35), Moses tells the Israelites that G-d will free them and bring them to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, they are so discouraged by their back-breaking work that they won’t listen to him.
G-d tells Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, but Moses argues with G-d: "If the people of Israel won’t listen to me, why would Pharaoh?"
G-d tells Moses and Aaron what to do when they go to Pharaoh. To demonstrate G-d’s power, Aaron’s staff is turned into a large snake. Pharaoh’s magicians are able to do the same, but Aaron’s snake swallows up theirs.
Then the plagues begin –
- First, the Nile River and all the water in Egypt turn to blood
- Then, frogs come out of the water and cover the land
- Gnats plague man and beast
- Flies swarm across the land
- All the Egyptians’ livestock dies
- The Egyptians are all plagued with Boils
- Hail, rain, and lightning ruin the crops
The last 3 plagues – locusts, darkness, and death of the first-born Egyptians – are in next week’s portion.
Before each plague, Moses goes to Pharaoh and asks for permission for the Israelites to leave, but Pharaoh refuses. When each plague strikes, Pharaoh begs Moses to end it and agrees to let the Israelites go, but after each plague is ended, Pharoah’s heart is hardened and he does not let them leave.
Five times in my Torah portion, Moses tells Pharaoh: 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.'
"Let my people go" are famous words that we also associate with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday we celebrate as a national holiday this Monday. African-Americans felt they had a lot in common with the Jewish people. They compared their situation in the South to the Jews' experience in Egypt, in spirituals like "Let my people go."
You can see a lot of similarities in Moses’ and Dr. King’s situations:
The stories both start with slavery and oppression –
• The Jewish people were forced to work for Pharoah
• African-Americans were slaves in the United States. Even after being freed, they were treated as second-class citizens: they could not sit at the front of buses, or eat at lunch counters. They were often denied the right to vote or serve on juries. There were white-only schools, water fountains and restrooms.
Next, there was the arrival of a great leader –
• God chose Moses to speak to Pharoah, to demand that he let the Israelites go.
• Dr. King was one of the key leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement. He spoke out against about his people’s oppression and demanded equality.
After slavery, both peoples had a long journey to reach complete freedom -
• The Israelites wandered for 40 years in the desert before they reached Canaan.
• For African-Americans, the Civil Rights Act was not passed until 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery.
Finally, in both situations there were new laws -
• At Mount Sinai, Moses received the laws that the Jewish people were to live by.
• After the Civil Rights movement protests, the United States passed the Civil Rights Act. It prohibited discrimination in schools, housing, government, and jobs.
Many American Jews and Jewish leaders took part in the Civil Rights movement, because they knew from our own history about the injustice of slavery and discrimination.
The success of the Civil Rights movement was a victory for Jews, too. Before the 1960’s, Jews were one of the minorities that were often denied jobs, entrance to colleges, and housing in certain neighborhoods.
Getting back to the story of Exodus -- every year, at our Passover seders, we retell the story of Moses, the Plagues, and the hasty departure from Egypt. At the beginning of the seder we recite the line: "Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come and partake."
But many people are "hungry and in need" more than just one night out of the year. So my Mitzvah project was to collect food for the County Food Bank.
Members of our temple donated many boxes and cans of food, and some donated the free turkeys they earned before Thanksgiving. My mom and I also went to the College Student Farm, to pick up vegetables that were left over from their harvests each week. The Food Bank was especially happy to have fresh produce.
I hope all of you will donate items to your own local food banks, especially during this cold winter.
I would like to thank all the people who helped me prepare for this special occasion:
The Rabbi, who helped me to practice leading the service, and discuss the Torah portion. We went over each thing until I got it right and was comfortable at the bima.
The Cantor, who taught me how to do the chanting. He gave me lots of great tips to help me remember how to do each trope.
Mr. H--, who helped me practice the Haftorah portion. We always started off our sessions just talking about recent events, which helped me feel comfortable.
Mr. G--, my Hebrew school teacher, who helped me learn the blessings, and taught us new melodies for prayers. He has a really great sense of humor and you can always count on him to have a joke ready, whatever the situation.
Mom and Dad, who helped me practice and learn the Torah and Haftorah portions, and the blessings before and after. My Dad, who as you know is a big computer expert, bought a computer program that teaches you how to chant the portions. That helped me a lot. My Mom sat with me while I practiced over and over, sometimes when I didn’t want to, but it paid off in the end. Thank you both for your help, support, patience, and love.
Standing here today as a Bar Mitzvah, I recognize that I now have duties in the Jewish community. I hope that I will be able to continue my participation here, and make important contributions to our synagogue and our congregation.
Thank you, and Shabbat Shalom.