Torah Portion:	Devarim
Synagogue:	Shira Chadasha (Partnership Orthodox)
Walking time from home:	25 minutes
Reason for going:	My niece’s Bat Mitzvah
Kiddush:	Large, diverse and plentiful

For over a year, my nearly 12-year-old niece has been anticipating her Bat Mitzvah. Since the start of this year she has been participating in two programs related to the milestone – one organised by a synagogue where she is learning about the traditional Jewish elements of becoming a Bat Mitzvah girl, and the other about what Jewish responsibility means in the modern world. Her party is also well into the planning stages since it is only two weeks away. But until fairly recently she and her family hadn’t really planned on doing any more than that. The truth is that unlike for boys, where there are specified rules and precepts connected with becoming a Bar Mitzvah boy, there are no such rules or even traditions for girls. Many have been developed over the years, but most of them  are relatively new or essentially modern constructs.

The idea of having a call up or reading from the Torah like the boys do, hadn’t crossed her mind or the minds of her parents until I suggested it. Though actually reading from the Torah was always going to be a step too far because she barely knows the Hebrew letters, learning the prayers was easy enough and once the family realised that being called to the Torah was a possibility in this day and age, even within the confines of a moderate Orthodox setting, they agreed to the opportunity.

Shira Chadasha is the perfect shule for such an occasion. Whist orthodox in the way it conducts the  service and the majority of traditions, their main point of difference – since their founding – is that there is complete equality when it comes to the Torah reading: men and women alike get called to the Torah and can read from the Torah (if they have of course learned and practiced the reading).

Once the family agreed to have a Bat Mitzvah in this way, the shule made a big deal of it, as they always do, which was very lovely. Numerous members of the family were called up prior to the Bat Mitzvah girl, whilst others had other honours as well. When it was finally her time to be called, the shule tradition is to have everyone stand around the Bimah with her, metaphorically welcoming her into Jewish adulthood. She then read the blessings before and after the reading, and later gave the sermon. The family also sponsored the kiddush and the president spoke enthusiastically about the whole family.

For me it was a particular pleasure to be part of the ceremony, especially knowing that I had a role in suggesting and planning it. I taught my niece the blessings, and after learning the portion of the week together and discussing the structure of her speech, it was a joy to hear her deliver it so confidently and clearly. We chose this week for the ceremony because it was her Hebrew birthday just a few days ago, but it was in fact a particularly good portion for such an occasion. The portion is the first of the fifth book and the start of Moses’ summary of the whole Torah. As such, the sermon summarised her life till now and was then about new beginnings and new responsibilities as a Jewish adult. She also spoke about remembering the past, including old friends.

In the scheme of things, this was only one small element of the Bat Mitzvah. There were only a dozen or so family members and a few friends at this event. In a couple of weeks will be a party with well over a hundred people in attendance, and later in the year will be the graduation ceremonies for her two program. But this one being the religious ceremony was actually when she became a Bat Mitzvah girl, and for that she will always be grateful as will the rest of the family. Especially me!