Last week I had the honor of officiating at a bnai mitzvah ceremony for one of our Birthright groups. It’s a perk of being the resident rabbi at IsraelExperts – and something i absolutely love doing.
A group of 40 some Jewish young adults who generally have not been to Israel previously – and many of whom are marginally affiliated to the organized Jewish community – somehow end up in Israel together on a Birthright program.
Often in passing, one of the participants expresses regret at not having had a bar or bat mitzvah ceremony when younger. When this occurs within earshot of one of our staff, they initiate a discussion with the participants about the possibility of having a bnai mitzvah ceremony here in Israel.
After brief conversations with some of the participants and the staff, I put together a ceremony including a creative, abbreviated service with a group aliyah l’torah. I ask each participant to share a few words about why they decided at this particular time and place to make the effort to make a public and formal declaration of belonging to the Jewish people.
I can’t begin to do justice here to the power and variety of their words. Sometimes they express deep family connections to Judaism, sometimes they share stories of conversions to Judaism. They share with us a few snapshots from their journey in Jewish life – and their journey to Israel.
Through their encounter with Israel they discover a new sense of connectedness to Jewish life and peoplehood. In order to honor this moment, they choose the traditional bnai mitzvah ceremony. To have an aliya l’torah, in a bet knesset (Birkat Shalom at Kibbutz Gezer), with their community, in Eretz Yisrael.
Sometimes I really love my job.
