Bat Mitzvaah Speech

Shabbat Shalom! (PAUSE) Thank you for coming to my bat mitzvah. It means a lot that you are here to celebrate with me. To me, becoming a Bat Mitzvah means that I am now an adult and part of a legacy. Through this process, I have become a member of the Jewish community. I have religious responsibilities, and also have gained the ability to lead people. I had the choice of becoming a Bat Mitzvah. I decided I wanted to because it meant a lot to carry on the family line of Judaism. It felt important to me to be a part of what all of my cousins and family members have embarked on.
What I have found most interesting about my studies is that Judaism is a vibrant, living religion. I have enjoyed learning how the spiritual aspects of Judaism elevate the physical world. One example of how we elevate the physical to spiritual is the way that we treat each other. It is important that we think about how we talk to others. We may not even realize it, but we are often very disrespectful. Take the subway for

instance, we shove people out of the way so we can get on or off a train. There are a lot of people that we may not, but need to be respectful of, like: doormen, elderly people, sad people, and sick people. Taking care of people's emotions is extremely important. When we stop and think about what we say, we can really make a change.
My Torah portion is Parashat Lech-Lecha. In this Torah portion, God makes a covenent that Abram's ancestors will be a great nation. After completing 10 tests, God changes his hame to abraham. Abraham has a child with Hagar, and names him Ishmael. God then promises that Abraham's barren wife, Sarah, that she will have a child. The major theme of my Torah portion is journeys. The biggest journey for me has been my camp experience. My first summer at Camp Chateaugay was 2012. I didn't know anyone there, and I was 8.5 hours away from home. On the drive up, I freaked out and wanted to go back, but once we got there I decided to stay. I was really nervous, but everyone else in my bunk was new as well. Every day, I wanted to go home, but every day I stayed. When my parents came to pick me up I said, "Can I go back next year?" Now, after my 4th summer, I will hopefully be going back for Solars 2016.
Over Labor Day weekend, my family and I did the ALS ice bucket challenge.

I decided to participate in the challenge because I know two friends of the family suffering from ALS. After I did the challenge, I felt really fulfilled and happy that I was doing something good. I'm glad that I could take part in something that will help the world. Before, I talked about how we are supposed to elevate our actions onto the spiritual level. Even though it was just simple bucket of ice being dropped on my head, it felt like more than that.
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year. Beginning this year, I started the tradition to do something small to make myself a better me. This year, I tried to talk to as many new people as I could. It wasn't just new people, but maybe people who I wanted a stronger friendship with. I have noticed that it is easier to find a place to sit in the cafeteria or have a conversation with someone. I hope that my behavior has truly had an impact on the

community.
Lastly, I would like to say thank you. First to my paresnts for supporting me and giving me the resources I needed to become a Bat Mitzvah. They have helped in every way they could, and I appreciate everything they did. I would also like to thank Chana for teaching me the entire language and Jewish history in less than a year. She also put up with me and my everylasting tangents and semi-related stories. Without her, I wouldn't be up here today. And of course, Rabbi Paulette. You have led me through this proccess with humor and ease. I started whispering 'um' between every word, but you taught me how to be confident in the language. You were patient when I was learning my 3 favorite prayers, and you never got frustrated with me or my progress. You told me never to say, "but its hard." and just to keep going. You haven't only helped with the Bat Mitzvah, but also as a person. Thank you, Kristen, for recording my prayers, even at the last minute. I didn't have a hard copy of my Torah portion over the summer, so I constantly listened to the recording and memorized it by sound. Thank you Uncle Seth for your support and input. And, thank you to my friends who helped me with prayers and keeping me calm during the process.