For both the Bar Mitzvah boy (or Bat Mitzvah girl) and proud parents, arrival at the age of 13 marks a major life milestone, acceptance of adults’ responsibilities as a member of the Jewish community. The ceremony’s marked by the young person reading from the Torah during Sabbath service, followed by (what else amongst us?) food and rejoicing.
Brothers’ Bar Mitzvahs at a Reform Congregation – by Jerry Verlin
Eileen and I long looked forward to our sons’ bar mitzvahs, milestones in our increasingly middle-aged lives no less than in their growing-up ones.
We celebrated Jon’s at a luncheon in a downtown hotel, but then for Max we thought an evening party at home would add a more personal touch.
Late in the evening (rather the following dawn) we wearily closed our door on our last guests, and agreed less than usefully, “Now, we know how to run one of these things.”
