The Coming of Age in the Jewish Tradition Essay Example for Free

The Coming of Age in the Jewish Tradition Essay My Bar Mitzvah will be taking place on my 13th Birthday, 27th of January 2002. I would like to invite you to the ceremony in my local Synagogue. The ceremony is held on the first Shabbat after my birthday, this will be the 2nd of February. Shabbat starts on Friday evening at sunset and it finishes on Saturday night when the stars appear, we rest on Shabbat we devote ourselves to prayer at the Torah study, it is a family time. Bar Mitzvah means son of the commandments. I will be exactly Bar Mitzvah on the 27th as soon as I wake up. From then on I will be an adult in the Jewish community, I will take responsibility for my own actions where my Father used to, and I make a commitment to my faith. I will enter a covenant relationship with God, both as an individual and as a part of the Jewish community. When we are Bar Mitzvah we will be able to form a minyan, which is the required 10 men needed present in a Synagogue before prayers can be read. In preparation for the ceremony I will have to: Go to classes to learn to read and chant the Torah in Hebrew, what it says and why it is important. Hebrew is especially hard to learn because it is written from right to left and there are no spaces, punctuation or vowels! I will learn how to put on my tefillin and tallit. The tefillin are special boxes Jews wear when praying they contain pieces of parchment with prayers written on them. They are worn on the head and arm because the arm is close to the heart and the head is closer to my thoughts and feelings. And the tallit is a prayer robe worm during morning prayers. It is a four-cornered square of white cloth worn over the head and shoulders and has tassels called tizits, although they will not be worn at Bar Mitzvah as it is a Shabbat and they arent worn then. I have to learn what the mitzvot are and how they are to be kept. They are the 613 commandments; the 10 commandments known in Christianity are included also. I also have to learn to observe the fast says and festivals of my religion and what they mean. I learn these things because they are necessary to teach me about my religion and to make me understand its origins correctly. I learn them from my parents, not only from direct teaching but also from example, they create an environment for Jewish living for me to learn everything. During the ceremony held in the Synagogue I will recite a blessing from the Torah. My Rabbi is testing me on it. I have to practice the blessing and pass my test before I can recite it at the ceremony. I am also going to read all of the Sidra for that Shabbat, this means a portion of the Torah that would have been read at that Shabbat. My Father will recite Baruch Shepatarani. This reads: Blessed be he who has freed me from the responsibility for this child. And also, my Rabbit will then give a sermon, he speaks to me about the new obligations I will have and I will then give a speech. I have invited many people to my Bar Mitzvah, friends and family, including my little sister Marie, who is very excited, as she will be Bat Mitzvah in two years. Bat Mitzvah is the same as Bar Mitzvah except it is on her 12th birthday as girls mature earlier than boys do. It has not always been marked as a ceremony and is always sometimes on Shabbat. She will receive Jewish books and gifts and will recite a section of the Torah, as I will. Some Jews are unhappy with making any difference between the Jewish responsibilities of boys and girls. They hold Bat Mitzvah ceremony much like the boys Bar Mitzvah, usually when the girl is 13 as well. Order of the Service The service will be held in a special order, I thought you should know what will happen. * The Rabbi will read first * A relative or a friend will read (we havent decided who yet!) * Everyone recites the Shema. * The Amidah prayer is said silently by everyone * The Torah scroll is brought out of the Ark and placed on the Bimah. * A blessing is recited over it by me, I will be wearing my Tallit and Yarmulke * Then I will chant the days section from the Torah. * I might chant a section from the Prophets. * My Father says the Baruch Shepataraini. * All say prayers for the Queen of Israel, while scrolls are replaced in the Ark. * The Amidah prayer is said again. * The Kaddish prayer is said (for the recently bereaved) * The Aleynu (prayer of adoration) * Last is the Hymn of Glory The Shema is the most important Jewish prayer. The Ark is the most important part of the Synagogue; the Torah scrolls (Sefer Torah) are kept inside. They have to be read with a tool called a Yad, so the Torah is not touched with hands. After the ceremony n the Synagogue hall straight after the service there is a small celebration, tea and biscuits will be served. Later on there is a large banquet, some people think there is too much emphasis put on the banquet and that more should be put on the Synagogue ceremony, Rabbis think this especially. During the banquet I will deliver another speech to my friends and relatives. The Rabbi will choose the topic of my speech. I will receive presents off my friends and family, but the most important will be the Jewish holy books, because I will keep them forever and pray and worship off them. I hope you can come to my ceremony, I would love to see you there.