Coming of Age: Shavuot, 5774
“What does becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah mean to you?” As I have always done, I continue to ask each individual this question as they prepare to become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Often, the immediate response is a smile or a shy gaze, followed by the statements similar to: “It means I am becoming a Jewish adult and I’ll be assuming greater responsibility. It means I am becoming a man or a woman.” And so our conversation begins about the meaning of this important rite of passage for many of our children.
After we have discussed what assuming greater Judaic responsibility means, I ask each of my young friends to imagine what it is going to feel like reading from a Torah scroll, standing in the presence of a community, and reading the words of God, as so many before them have done over the millennia. I ask them whether they have considered what it will feel like to not only read God’s words, but in doing so, to receive them as well, to internalize these holy words, so that they become a part of who they are. I ask, “Do you understand how awesome becoming a B’nai Mitzvah is, to step up and essentially pronounce to our community that ‘I am a Jew and I am proud of it because our tradition is rich with so much sacred meaning?’”
We discuss what it means to be Jewish, to be an important, participating adult member of a people that transcends political boundaries and to carry on our traditions, not just because it’s what we do as we turn 13, but because it’s what we do to begin our daily journey as Jewish adults. I keep probing: “What do you suppose it will feel like after your years of religious and Hebrew education to read Torah?” I continue to receive all kinds of responses, but mostly, if I inquire enough, I begin to see a sparkle in their eyes, an internal recognition that our children are visualizing themselves connecting themselves to God and our People by chanting words of Torah.
It is not easy to read from a Torah scroll, nor has it ever been easy to receive the words of God. Shavuot, the Festival of the Giving of the Torah, is upon us, and it requires each of us to imagine what it must have felt like to receive the words of Torah from God at Mt. Sinai. We know from our text and commentaries that our ancestors trembled. One Midrash even claims we were “blown away” by the whole event. Yet, we ask our children to engage in this complex endeavor of encountering Torah in order to connect themselves with our People, our history and God.
Coming of age in Jewish life is not only a rite of passage but an act of newness that we are required to renew each and every day whether we are 13 or 113. One of the ways we can renew our connection to our Jewishness is by connecting ourselves to that seminal moment when we all stood at Mt. Sinai, as individuals who watched ourselves transitioning into the evolving nation of Israel. So I’ll keep probing: “What does it mean to become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? How do you think it will feel? What does it mean to be the recipients of God’s Commandments? What must it have felt like to stand at Mt. Sinai?” What we ask of our children, we must be willing to demand of ourselves as well.
While we are enjoying the beauty of summer, the inspiring walks along the lake, the thrill of wonderful hikes perhaps in the woods or mountains, or just warm summer breezes, I hope we are “blown away” by the fact that we are all still very much connected to our ancestors who heard the words of God and received God’s commandments while standing at that inauspicious, little mountain we call Mt. Sinai. May their experience continue to inform each of our days as we embody the brilliance of our tradition that changed the moral underpinnings of our world.
May we continue to be renewed by the words of Torah through our thoughts and deeds always grateful to the One who has enabled us to be the Children of the Covenant.
“What does becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah mean to you?” As I have always done, I continue to ask each individual this question as they prepare to become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Often, the immediate response is a smile or a shy gaze, followed by the statements similar to: “It means I am becoming a Jewish adult and I’ll be assuming greater responsibility. It means I am becoming a man or a woman.” And so our conversation begins about the meaning of this important rite of passage for many of our children.
After we have discussed what assuming greater Judaic responsibility means, I ask each of my young friends to imagine what it is going to feel like reading from a Torah scroll, standing in the presence of a community, and reading the words of God, as so many before them have done over the millennia. I ask them whether they have considered what it will feel like to not only read God’s words, but in doing so, to receive them as well, to internalize these holy words, so that they become a part of who they are. I ask, “Do you understand how awesome becoming a B’nai Mitzvah is, to step up and essentially pronounce to our community that ‘I am a Jew and I am proud of it because our tradition is rich with so much sacred meaning?’”
We discuss what it means to be Jewish, to be an important, participating adult member of a people that transcends political boundaries and to carry on our traditions, not just because it’s what we do as we turn 13, but because it’s what we do to begin our daily journey as Jewish adults. I keep probing: “What do you suppose it will feel like after your years of religious and Hebrew education to read Torah?” I continue to receive all kinds of responses, but mostly, if I inquire enough, I begin to see a sparkle in their eyes, an internal recognition that our children are visualizing themselves connecting themselves to God and our People by chanting words of Torah.
It is not easy to read from a Torah scroll, nor has it ever been easy to receive the words of God. Shavuot, the Festival of the Giving of the Torah, is upon us, and it requires each of us to imagine what it must have felt like to receive the words of Torah from God at Mt. Sinai. We know from our text and commentaries that our ancestors trembled. One Midrash even claims we were “blown away” by the whole event. Yet, we ask our children to engage in this complex endeavor of encountering Torah in order to connect themselves with our People, our history and God.
Coming of age in Jewish life is not only a rite of passage but an act of newness that we are required to renew each and every day whether we are 13 or 113. One of the ways we can renew our connection to our Jewishness is by connecting ourselves to that seminal moment when we all stood at Mt. Sinai, as individuals who watched ourselves transitioning into the evolving nation of Israel. So I’ll keep probing: “What does it mean to become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? How do you think it will feel? What does it mean to be the recipients of God’s Commandments? What must it have felt like to stand at Mt. Sinai?” What we ask of our children, we must be willing to demand of ourselves as well.
While we are enjoying the beauty of summer, the inspiring walks along the lake, the thrill of wonderful hikes perhaps in the woods or mountains, or just warm summer breezes, I hope we are “blown away” by the fact that we are all still very much connected to our ancestors who heard the words of God and received God’s commandments while standing at that inauspicious, little mountain we call Mt. Sinai. May their experience continue to inform each of our days as we embody the brilliance of our tradition that changed the moral underpinnings of our world.
May we continue to be renewed by the words of Torah through our thoughts and deeds always grateful to the One who has enabled us to be the Children of the Covenant.
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Keyn Yehi Ratzon.
So may it Be God’s will. Chag Sameach! Rabbi Debra Nesselson Shavuot, 5774 May, 2014 |
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