Tamar's bat mitzvah was lovely. Ellen started off the ritual by presenting Tamar with her tallit, and I said a few words about its meaning, grounded in Torah. Tamar handled her Hebrew chanting of Torah very well. Her d'var Torah, (a reflection on the Torah portion, which she wrote herself), was thoughtful and well-delivered. Julie and Jerry's words addressed to Tamar about what she means to them as their daughter, had us in tears. And once again, Ellen and I were invited to pass the Torah scroll up through the generations to Tamar. The symbolism of that is always very moving to me. And as before, Rabbi Riqi led the service with energy and passion and the 2 1/2 hour-service didn't seem that long because it flowed along so well. I'm impressed by the bar/bat mitzvah service. We have nothing like it in the Protestant church for a young person.
No photos were allowed during the service. But I took some before and after. There was a professional photographer who took hundreds (thousands?) of photos all day. I guess we'll see them eventually.
L.to r., Bill Baker, Joyce Baker, Ben Feinland, Jerry, Tamar, Julie, Max Feinland, Jenny Baker, Paul Baker, Max Baker.
Tamar with friends at the luncheon following.
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