The first time I met you, Ben, I knew we would really enjoy learning together. At that first meeting, at your parents house, before we could sit down and get to work, you had to figure out the best snack to go with studying Torah-apples with lemon juice. Between mouthfuls of “healthy sour patch kids” apples, we started working together. Ben, this moment, this story, really demonstrates many aspects about your personality and about the young man you have become. You are creative, silly, and you think of out the box, but you are also very committed to your work and to your responsibilities.
While you diligently prepared for your Bar Mitzvah, you also continued to be a great student and athlete. Not only that, but when your wrist got a little banged up a month or so ago, you kept playing and you kept learning. You are not only a team player, you are also a role model. Your work at Back to the Wild, especially your great turtle stories, show your sense of humor, but also your devotion to making the world a better place for people and for animals.
It has been such a pleasure getting to know you, Ben, over the last few months. Our studies together have been filled with funny food adventures including apples dipped in lemon juice, as well as the admission that you really really like store bought matzah (You’re probably the first person to admit to that), hard work, and many high fives. Our studies together demanded a lot of hard work, but you earned every FaceTime and Real time high five, and all of your efforts really paid off today.
Ben, today, you have become Bar Mitzvah. And as bar mitzvah, you have taken responsibility for your Judaism, and in doing so you performed a mitzvah for your community. Today you have led your family and friends in tefilah, prayer–bringing your unique voice and adding it to that of the Jewish people. Becoming Bar Mitzvah is not an end to a process, but rather a beginning. This evening you have set out on your journey towards finding your Judaism, and defining who you will become as a member of the Jewish people. Over the last year, you have spent many hours working on your Torah portion and on your prayers, but you’ve also learned to ask questions, and to begin to define yourself by the answers you have found on your own and the answers you have gained from your teachers. Today you are a man in the eyes of the Torah, but that doesn’t mean that your journey is at an end. To signify your own journey and your search for questions and answers, I present you with a copy of the Jewish Book of Why. May it serve you well, and guide you to find your own answers and your own Judaism throughout your lifetime.
My hope for you, Ben, is that you will always find meaning in your Judaism, that today will be a continuation and not an end to the questions you ask, the tzedakah you do, and your never ending effort to be a positive role model both on and off the field. May you always be a part of the Jewish community here at Oheb Shalom, in Elyria, as well as at Goldman Union Camp, and may your talents always be a blessing for your family and friends and for the Jewish people.
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְיָ וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
May God bless you and keep you.
יָאֵר יְיָ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ
May God make Her face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
יִשָׂא יְיָ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם
May God cause His face to be always before you
and bring you peace.
And let us say: Amen.
Rabbi Bailey Romano 