Michelle Goodman

English - H Block
September  8, 2010                                My Bat Mitzvah

          Becoming a bat mitzvah is a huge step in a girls’ life and I was so lucky that I was able to share it with my whole family. Having them there supporting me in the front row through the whole service meant a lot to me.  I don’t think I would have been able to do it without them.  Every person in my family played a role in my special day and because of them, when August 15, 2009 finally arrived, I was ready to complete my symbolic acceptance into adulthood. 

          My mom and dad were a huge part of my success on this day.  For six years they drove me to and from Hebrew school twice a week, sat through services, and so much more. My three brothers, Josh, Robbie and William were a huge part of my service too.  Although Josh and Robbie live in a different state, they all took time off to come celebrate with me.  Josh flew in from San Francisco and Robbie flew in from Tokyo.  I felt so special knowing that they cared that much about me to take time off from both of their jobs to spend the week with me. 

          Out of everyone in my family who encouraged and supported me throughout the six years that led up to my bat mitzvah, when my sister, Melissa came up to the pulpit to sing a prayer with me, it meant the most. We have always been so close and to have her sing a prayer with me was one of the best parts of my service and one of the most memorable too. She is a great sister and for her to have been there for me on such a big day was amazing. 

          My family was the reason I knew that I was one hundred percent prepared for this day and when the time finally came a little more than halfway through the service to read from the Torah, they were able to come up one by one and bless the Torah for me before I could sing my Torah portion. 

          I read from the fifth book of the Torah, Deuteronomy.  It was chapter 15 which was called Re’eh.  My Torah portion luckily went right along with my mitzvah project.  It talked about helping the needy and for my mitzvah project, that is just what I did.  I learned so many valuable lessons from this portion and one thought that my Rabbi pointed out a few weeks before was that when we receive something in our hands, we take possession, as our fingers point in to ourselves.  When you open your hands, your fingers point to others as you transfer possessions to help the ones that need it; but no matter how many people are helping out,  there will always be those who remain with their fists clenched tight.  When I learned this, I felt so strongly about helping out in the community that I started to volunteer as much as I could and my family was there the whole way to support me. 

          Before I knew it, I was already finishing up the two and a half hour service and reading my speech.  I made sure that everyone there, especially my family knew how much it meant to me that they all took time out of their busy lives to come and share it with me. As I was speaking, I looked up at everyone.  I saw my whole family smiling up at me, along with everyone else who was there for me.  I could tell how happy they all were for me just by the look on their faces. My mom was crying, my sister mouthed that she loved me, and my dad and brothers had huge grins on their faces. 

          When I finished up and everyone started clapping, I was overwhelmed with different emotions.  I had spent about six years preparing for this day and it was already half over.  I could not believe how quick that morning went and I was impatient to hear what my family had to say about the service and to tell them that I loved them. But mostly, I was excited for the party that night and the rest of my life as a Bat Mitzvah.