And so it begins...my "baby" begins his bar mitzvah tutoring..oy vey! In less than 9 months, my son, with perseverance and commitment, will become a Bar Mitzvah - which literally translates to "son of the commandment". A good resource to find out more is right here at Judaism 101.
Lucas, somewhat recently, began this journey formally in 2012. We attended a bar mitzvah ceremony and celebration of friend's son, and he was immediately captured by the experience. From the moment he opened a prayer book at the synagogue that morning, he was engaged. He read from the book, mind you, his first time in a temple - in a formal Jewish setting, as if he had been reading from it his entire life. He chanted along with the congregation, practically without fumble or confusion. Not once did he squirm, or deflect his attention - he was enamoured. At the end of the service, he leaned over to me and said, "I want to do this."
Now mind you, my son hasn't been all that much of a go-getter. He's extremely bright, quite musical and mathematical, has a healthy fondness for reading and a great attraction to all things video game related, no matter the platform. He's done some sports...never quite finding one, other than golf, that he's wanted to try again. Not really a team player, nor even particularly competitive, but he knows what he likes and what he doesn't. He's always been very clear on that. But finding things he likes has always been woefully sporadic. So when I hear him say, "I want to..." I can't let too much time lapse...that window of opportunity is brief.
Prior to this experience, his exposure to Judaism had been through holiday celebrations - typical of many interfaith families, and not surprising considering his family's lack of penchant for formal, organized religion. His top three holidays involving any type of religious aspect - Christmas (big surprise), Chanukah (can you see a trend?) and Passover. Do you see one that doesn't "fit"?
I think he was about 7 the first time he got to actively participate in the Passover seder. We would go to my grandmother's country club, and partake in an intimate dinner for 700. Three different rooms with three different rabbis leading the services, each one moving through the haggadahs at a similarly slow pace, as the average age in the rooms was about 70. Sometimes, the rabbi's will select children beforehand and assign them English and/or Hebrew readings depending on who was available. That year, Lucas took the initiative to be sure he was picked. There weren't a lot of kids present, and he couldn't speak Hebrew, so he was tasked with reading all four of the 4 questions. I wasn't sure how it would go, but he was excited so what's a mother to do?
When it came time for him to read, the rabbi signaled for the kids to come up to the front, and Lucas wound his way through the hundreds of chairs, just barely keeping his head above the chair backs. The four kids who could read Hebrew lined up in front of a standing microphone, and Lucas was handed a portable mic. I looked at my grandmother. I bit my lip. I think I may have even closed my eyes for a second...until he began to speak. He read the heck out of those questions, again, like as if he had read them aloud for decades, much less a year or two, pausing between them to allow the Hebrew readers to speak their parts. The rabbi didn't direct him, or have to slow him down, or hold him back. It was unbelievably natural for him to be doing this, in front of hundreds of strangers no less. I had never been prouder. And yes, verklempt would be the state I was in during the entire reading.
I had a feeling he was on to something...more to come...
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