My Bat Mitzvah

          I have exactly one week, four days, twenty-two hours, nine minutes, and fifty-seven seconds until my big day. NO, I am not getting married. But, then what is this “big day?” It is a tradition passed down through my ancestors, a right of passage that most jews go through, a gathering of friends and family,  and an experience of a lifetime. In other words, my Bat Mitzvah. But, what does this mean to me? Why should I commit myself to this tradition? What do I think will come of this. WHY? Three words. Tradition, learning, and becoming.
First of all, Tradition plays a key role in my reasoning to become a Bat Mitzvah. I think that it is very cool that my ancestors before me read out of the same text that I will be reading out of on this day. Who knows, Maybe my great great great great great great grandpa had the same portion as me! On a less intense scale, my parents also had B’nai Mitzvahs. This motivates me to have one because it will be another thing I have in common with them. Just like how a family heirloom is passed down in a family, Jews have a very priceless tradition they pass down as well. Since this is so special I  believe that it is very important to keep this tradition going. Most people aren’t fortunate enough to connect in such a deep level with their religion. For example, I am the first out of my three cousins to become a B’nai Mitzvah. This isn’t because I am necessarily the oldest. Also, before the reform movement, many girls couldn’t become Bat Mitzvahs because of their gender. I think that I have a duty to take advantage of my rights, and be a part of a the Jewish community all over the world.

I have learned so many new things from being Jewish. In my Bat Mitzvah process, I have learned even more. Knowledge is a very important part of life. That is why it is so important that my generation and those to come go to school. My Jewish knowledge expands far and wide. I know how to read and write a whole different language, I learned ancient music notes, I learned many prayers and blessings, what most traditions mean, and how to interpret torah. These things are very important in being a Bat Mitzvah, but I also believe I have learned to see life in a different way. Because I had to interpret torah for my service, I think that I am interpreting life as well. For instance, in my portion, I found a lesson in an action two brothers performed. That was pretty hard when I started, but It got easier. Because I’ve had that experience now, I can find a lesson in pretty much anything. I have taught myself to teach myself. That may sound confusing, but I think that it will help me in the long run.

The final reason I am becoming a Bat Mitzvah is because of all of the discoveries I will make. Since I am turning thirteen, that means I take on more responsibility as a person and as a official member of my temple. I am sure to discover more about myself in these next few years and I am excited. By entering myself in this experience, I have already discovered quite a few things I didn’t know about myself before. First, Practice makes better. I learned this while I was trying to memorize certain phrases in my portion. I couldn’t get it down until I really, really tried. Second, I learned that staying up late cramming is not always the best thing to do. Usually I would wait until that last couple of minutes of my day untill I would practice. I now know that that is not a smart choice. Third, I found out that something very small can give my so much joy. Whenever I mastered a word or phrase in my portion, I was surprised to find that it would fill me with so much pride. These types of moments are what makes life so good. Finally, I found out that apples and peanut butter go well with Hebrew and Drahes.Tehehehe.

What would I do if I didn’t have a family connection, knowledge, or peanut butter and Hebrew? Becoming a Bat Mitzvah has taught me about all of these important things, and I know it will illuminate more exciting things to come.