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Dear
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I have to admit, there is something
happening at the end of this month that is of great significance to me. It is
the holiday of Shavout, which celebrates the Jews receiving the Torah on Mt.
Sinai, and it is special to me because it was the topic of my Bat Mitzvah
speech!
 That’s right;
this month marks the 15th anniversary of my own bat mitzvah! It’s amazing how in that short amount of time how much the bat
mitzvah has changed. Where before hardly anyone did a mitzvah project, today it
is commonplace, and what a beautiful change that is!
Since I did not do a mitzvah project
for my bat mitzvah, I have taken it upon myself, in true beyond bat mitzvah fashion,
to help others with their projects! So, are you going to help me fulfill my
beyond bat mitzvah project?
Wishing you a wonderful month and a very
Happy Shavout! (be sure to read the ‘This Month in Jewish history’ section
to find out the special relationship Shavout has with Bat Mitzvah)
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Sheena Levi
Director of Outreach sheena@levlalev.com |
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 On the holiday of Shavout (celebrated this year
from May 26-28) it is tradition to eat dairy foods and decorate with fresh
flowers to remind us of how the pure white and flowering
Mt. Sinai looked when the Torah was given there. Consider hosting a special
dairy goods bake sale and/or selling flowers before the holiday to raise funds
for your Mitzvah project. Maybe you even know a bakery or florist who
will donate their products, or some of their proceeds, to your project?
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- Lisa Stein, NJ
on her Bat Mitzvah this month! Lisa is sponsoring the Bat Mitzvah of an Orphan
girl in Israel.
- Naomi and Noa,
NY on their amazing joint mitzvah fashion show fundraiser to benefit Orphan
girls in Israel.
- Sarina
Hilowitz, GA on her Bat Mitzvah this month! Sarina is sponsoring the Bat
Mitzvah of an Orphan girl in Israel.
- Naomi Fink, OH on her Bat Mitzvah this month! Naomi is donating funds raised from several projects to the Orphans in Israel.
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I am so excited to share with you
the inspiring work of the self-proclaimed “Mitzvah Club of San Diego.” They recently held a bake sale and raised
$400!
They still are
$3,100 short, if you, your mitzvah club or someone you know is interested in
helping them reach their $5,000 goal to purchase a TV and DVDs for the Orphanage, something the Home has
never had, please contact me at sheena@levlalev.com
Now,
without further ado, I present the amazing Mitzvah Profile of the Dance
for Love Bake Sale to benefit Orphans in Israel! |
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 Name: Jenna Saloner of Dance for Love
Town: San Diego, California
Project Date: March 2012
Mitzvah Project: Bake
Sale to raise funds to purchase a TV and DVDs for the Orphanage
READ MORE>>
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Shavout: the Jewish Nation’s Bnai Mitvah
 The Holiday of Shavout is such a perfect one
for us Bat Mitzvah girls. Just as we celebrate accepting our responsibilities
as Jews, our ancestors at Mt.Sinai joyfully took upon themselves the same
commandments with the statement, “Naasah V’Nishama! - We shall do and we shall
hear!”
In fact, the two occasions are so connected
that the first Bat Mitzvah ceremonies ever were said to have been held on
Shavout. Isaac Pardo was the Rabbi of Verona, Italy in the 19th century, and the
earliest bat mitzvah was attributed to his synagogue there.
 In Pardo’s synagogue, the Bat Mitzvah was a
communal ceremony, held for all the girls who turned 12 during the course of
the following year. According
to Aliza Lavie, author of the new book: Women's Customs: A Journey of Jewish
Customs, Rituals, Prayers and Stories, “The girls wore white and entered
the men's section of the synagogue during the  procession; accompanied by a
choir ... The rabbi blessed them.” The Song of Deborah (Judges 5) was also sung
to teach the girls about the strong female Jewish role-model, the only woman
judge and prophetess, Devorah.
And the Bat Mitzvah custom spread from there. Indeed,
in my own 1997 Bat Mitzvah speech about Shavout I connected to accepting the
Torah because just as each year on Shavout Jews are taught to re-accept the Torah
upon themselves, our Bat Mitzvah date is our own personal Shavout.
May we continue to go
beyond bat mitzvah each year…even 15 years later. |
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