It is hard to believe, but my little grandson- the one met when my son and I drove to Cincinnati at the end of March for his brit mila (circumcision)- is now 13 and about to be bar mitzva’ed.

When Eli was born and survived 8 days, he was circumcised.  That enveloped his whole being in Jewish tradition; via the ceremony that was first decreed to Avraham Avinu (Abraham, our forefather) when he was 99 years old, his son Ishmael was 13, and his newborn Yitzchak was 8 days old.  This rite signifies the entering of the soul into the covenant with Hashem, a life-long commitment to follow the rules of the Tora and make this world a better place for everyone.

But, a child is unable to exercise all the rights and demands of the religion. So, that child is taught by the parents (and often times by religious and lay leaders) to take his or her place in the world.  For a gal, she comes of age when she turns 12; a guy reaches the age of (Jewish) majority at the 13.  Which is when the ritual of bat (for girls) or bar (for guys) is effected.

At that point in time, the child is no longer.  As far as Judaism is concerned, s/he is an adult.  Fully responsible to effect the laws of the Tora, to be responsible for following the laws and rituals that identify us as Jewish folks.

As you can see in the video attached, it is typical for (non-Orthodox) folks to obtain and don a tallit-  a ritual garment (a shawl) with fringes on each of its four corners.  (The Orthodox males do not obtain a tallit, they wear their father’s or one of the shuls’.. because the tallit is a gift from one’s spouse, a demarcation that the man is married [and off limits] to all others.}  The other ritual item obtained every morning (on non-holidays, which includes the Shabat), a set of T’filin, phylacteries, that adorn one’s arm and head during the morning prayers.  My family tradition is that the grandparent (typically the grandmom) purchases these items and grants them to the bar mitva 6 months before the ritual date, so he can become proficient in the tying and wrapping of the items by the time he is a man and must wear them daily. I gave Eli his T’filin 6 months ago.

 

 

 

Nowadays, most young kids celebrate their bar/bat mitzva by reading a portion of the Tora and the additional reading, the Haftora.  We Jews read from the Tora every Shabat and holiday.  (Oh, and Mondays and Thursdays, as well!)  Each week, from the holiday of Simchat Tora, when we start reading from the book of Breishit (Genesis), a different portion is read, until the entire five books of the Tora are finished at the next Simchat Tora.   And, the cycle repeats.

The Haftora, a reading from the Prophets, is chosen to highlight one of the themes of the Tora portion.   This tradition was started when King Antiochus  (the dastardly king against who the Makabee’s rebelled) ruled that the Tora could not be read.  So, a thematic choice was chosen from the Prophets to keep the tradition- and abide by the despot’s ruling.  Once the rebellion let us be free, we continued to read the Haftora, as well as the Tora.

Some folks- folks like me who went to yeshiva- lead the entire service.  From the preliminary (Birchot Hashachar), to the morning service (Shacharit), the Tora Service, and the additional service (Musaf)… the full complement of prayers for the Shabat day.   Because we were already proficient in reading from the Tora (which has no vowels and no cantillation marks- even though it is sung out loud), as well as the prayer rituals.  But, that is not the norm.

My grandson will be reading the special Tora reading and the Haftora.  His bar mitzva involves the reading from three separate Torot (the plural of Tora)- one for the weekly reading, one for the special Shabat of “HaChodesh” (this is the month of Pesach, the holiday where we celebrate our freedom as a people), and Rosh Chodesh (it’s also a new moon).  That last reading is the one Eli will be reading- which is another link in his chain, since his mom was born on Rosh Chodesh Elul (a different month)- and they will share their bar/bat mitzva portion for eternity.

Besides watching my grandson grasp the reins of Judaism and harness its rituals to guide his life, I will also revel in the celebrations of all of our family being in one place at the same time.  The pandemic has made such (what used to be a normal event) a special occasion- not to mention the fact that for the past two years, I have been unable to travel (and for most of that time, to walk).

What a wonderful weekend this shall be.