Bar Mitzvah

I stepped up to the bema. I looked out over the crowd. My friends and family stared back at me, waiting for the singing to commence. I wore a suit, black top and bottom, with a white collared shirt and a red tie. A yarmulke sat on my head, and a tillit hung around my shoulders. The room was filled with chairs, divided in the middle to create a central aisle. The walls towered over the crowd as their eyes remained focused on me. I looked down at the Torah, the center of Jewish tradition. I suddenly remembered my long hours singing, practicing, feeling nervous. When I was practicing I never imagined this day would come. But here it was. I focused back on the Torah. The scroll itself seemed old and worn, and yet from it emanated an aura of power. I reached down and pushed open the scroll. The words on it seemed foreign, and yet I knew exactly what to say.

            From behind me a beautiful voice rang out, resonating through the entire hall. The voice belonged to my mentor, my teacher, and my great friend Rabbi Michal. Although I had never heard the song, I recognized the names of my parents flowing along with the other Hebrew words. My parents stood up and made their way to the side of the bema. I looked over at them. My mother’s eyes were teary, and she was smiling. My father turned towards me, smiled, and began to sing the Barchu, or the call to worship: בָּרְכוּ אֶת יְיָ הַמְבֹרָךְ! The congregation then boomed the response, filling the room the song. When my father finished the chant, it was my turn. It was my turn to sing from the torah, to lead the congregation. It was my turn to become a man.

            I took a deep breath, looked down at the torah, and began to sing. My lungs filled with air as the words flowed gracefully from my mouth. As I sang I felt a sense of pride for the person I was. I was leading the congregation. And for doing so, at the age of 13, I was a full member of the community. All the work I had put in to get ready for that day and all the amazing people who had helped me through my struggles suddenly flashed through my mind. My life, my childhood, my parents, my brother. Everything I had ever done now focused at that pinnacle moment in my life. I suddenly felt taller and stronger. I was a man.