My Brother's Bar Mitzvah
Yesterday, December 1, 2018, was the date that my brother celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. I thought I would take some time to reflect on the festivities and provide some description of what was an amazing event.
For security reasons, I will not name the synagogue where the ceremony occurred or the venue for the party that followed.
While every Bar Mitzvah ceremony occurs on Saturday, the Jewish Shabbat (Sabbath), the festivities actually start the night before. At the synagogue that hosted the ceremony, the person whose Bar Mitzvah is the same week recites a prayer at the Friday night ceremony, called the Kiddish. Typically, a Kiddish ceremony involves lighting candles, uncovering bread (specifically, challah), and drinking wine from a special cup (since my brother is too young to legally drink, grape juice served as a substitute). For this ceremony, my mother, grandmother, and great-aunt were all on the bema (the holy, often elevated area at the front of the synagogue) with him. After a short oneg (snack), we returned home and awaited daybreak, when the much larger festivities would begin.
It is also worth noting that a Bar Mitzvah is a very formal event that only occurs once in one's lifetime. Therefore, many family members came to the Bay Area from afar; some came from across the street, some drove from Southern California, some flew from Seattle, and many of those who have familial relationships with my mother flew from New England-- a distance of more than 2,700 miles.
After a short drive to the synagogue, my entire family participated in a one-hour long photoshoot. Because it was raining, most of our pictures were on the bema before the ceremony. Then my family awaited while I greeted local guests, some of whom I had not seen for a long time. Once the service was about to begin, the Rabbi, my immediate family, and I went outside the sanctuary to participate in a special prayer. After that prayer was over, the service began.
For the first forty-five minutes of the service, I sat waiting. My brother went on the bema after roughly ten minutes for a presentation of the tallit before my parents returned to the congregation and my brother led the first part of the service. After he got a short break, the most important part of any Shabbat service, the Torah reading, was set to begin.
After numerous rituals, including a congratulatory speech by my parents, my brother began reading the Torah. A Torah reading, however, is not as simple as reading a book. The entire Torah is written in unvowelled, unmarked Hebrew, but must be recited with proper chanting. Therefore, one must study the Parsha (specific section) that he or she intends to read in advance to memorize the proper trope. Additionally, both before and after a Torah reading, one or more person(s) must present a blessing. The reading is divided into a number of Aliyot (sections; in this case, seven) with a break in between for these blessings. I was called to present one of the Aliyot and, after reciting a blessing, watching my brother read from the Torah, reciting another blessing, and watching my brother read another Aliyah, proceeded back to my seat.
After the service eventually concluded, we had another short oneg before moving to another venue nearby for a party. While I did not dance at the party, I enjoyed it. All of the party decorations were based on "The Office," my brother's favorite television show. After the three hour party concluded, we could take some of the "The Office"-inspired props and bring them home, including many coffee mugs, T-shirts, foam core heads of characters, and a massive birthday card (my brother's birthday is today, December 2) stating that my brother was the "Employee of the Month."
After schlepping all of the goodies to the car, we rejoiced after a fun (albeit expensive) weekend. Other memorable moments were when my brother flattered me during his D'var Torah (speech about his Torah reading), when he made a mistake during the first part and then comedically admitted to the entire congregation that he made a mistake, the photo booth at his party (which created some hilarious results), and signing his birthday card. Overall, I very much enjoyed what my brother's Bar Mitzvah had to offer and could not believe how fast he had grown up.
Nate
For security reasons, I will not name the synagogue where the ceremony occurred or the venue for the party that followed.
While every Bar Mitzvah ceremony occurs on Saturday, the Jewish Shabbat (Sabbath), the festivities actually start the night before. At the synagogue that hosted the ceremony, the person whose Bar Mitzvah is the same week recites a prayer at the Friday night ceremony, called the Kiddish. Typically, a Kiddish ceremony involves lighting candles, uncovering bread (specifically, challah), and drinking wine from a special cup (since my brother is too young to legally drink, grape juice served as a substitute). For this ceremony, my mother, grandmother, and great-aunt were all on the bema (the holy, often elevated area at the front of the synagogue) with him. After a short oneg (snack), we returned home and awaited daybreak, when the much larger festivities would begin.
It is also worth noting that a Bar Mitzvah is a very formal event that only occurs once in one's lifetime. Therefore, many family members came to the Bay Area from afar; some came from across the street, some drove from Southern California, some flew from Seattle, and many of those who have familial relationships with my mother flew from New England-- a distance of more than 2,700 miles.
After a short drive to the synagogue, my entire family participated in a one-hour long photoshoot. Because it was raining, most of our pictures were on the bema before the ceremony. Then my family awaited while I greeted local guests, some of whom I had not seen for a long time. Once the service was about to begin, the Rabbi, my immediate family, and I went outside the sanctuary to participate in a special prayer. After that prayer was over, the service began.
For the first forty-five minutes of the service, I sat waiting. My brother went on the bema after roughly ten minutes for a presentation of the tallit before my parents returned to the congregation and my brother led the first part of the service. After he got a short break, the most important part of any Shabbat service, the Torah reading, was set to begin.
After numerous rituals, including a congratulatory speech by my parents, my brother began reading the Torah. A Torah reading, however, is not as simple as reading a book. The entire Torah is written in unvowelled, unmarked Hebrew, but must be recited with proper chanting. Therefore, one must study the Parsha (specific section) that he or she intends to read in advance to memorize the proper trope. Additionally, both before and after a Torah reading, one or more person(s) must present a blessing. The reading is divided into a number of Aliyot (sections; in this case, seven) with a break in between for these blessings. I was called to present one of the Aliyot and, after reciting a blessing, watching my brother read from the Torah, reciting another blessing, and watching my brother read another Aliyah, proceeded back to my seat.
After the service eventually concluded, we had another short oneg before moving to another venue nearby for a party. While I did not dance at the party, I enjoyed it. All of the party decorations were based on "The Office," my brother's favorite television show. After the three hour party concluded, we could take some of the "The Office"-inspired props and bring them home, including many coffee mugs, T-shirts, foam core heads of characters, and a massive birthday card (my brother's birthday is today, December 2) stating that my brother was the "Employee of the Month."
After schlepping all of the goodies to the car, we rejoiced after a fun (albeit expensive) weekend. Other memorable moments were when my brother flattered me during his D'var Torah (speech about his Torah reading), when he made a mistake during the first part and then comedically admitted to the entire congregation that he made a mistake, the photo booth at his party (which created some hilarious results), and signing his birthday card. Overall, I very much enjoyed what my brother's Bar Mitzvah had to offer and could not believe how fast he had grown up.
Nate
Very nice summary of a wonderful milestone event for Jonah and family gathering/reunion. Thanks Nate! Great uncle Marvin
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