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Synagogue Sermon

January 14, 1967

Bar Mitzvah - Sidra Bo, Murray Kleinhaus (1967)

Bo Bar & Bat Mitzvah
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Note

Bar Mitzvah Letter Outline (1956)

Dear _______, On _______, your Bar Mitzvah was held in Congregation Kodimoh. You will remember that prior to that important event in your life, on _______, we had an intimate chat in my office during which one or both of your parents were present. At that time, I pointed out to you that the whole procedure of Bar Mitzvah was just a farce unless you followed it up in a special way. I told you that it meant that from then on you were to be a “good Jew” – and that the way to do that was to lead a Jewish way of life. Particularly, I urged you to put on your tefillin every morning and daven at least the Shema and the Shemoneh Esrei – to come to services at Kodimoh every Saturday and holiday morning – and to participate in the activities of our teen-age group, the “Bnei Mitzvah,” which meets every Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. for their minyan and which is followed by breakfast and a meeting. In my office, on that day, you promised me the following: —. I am sure that as an honorable person you want to keep your word, and that as a good Jew you will want to live in such a manner that will prove that your Bar Mitzvah was something serious and sincere. I therefore write to you to remind you of your promise, and to tell you that I anxiously look forward to greeting you as a “regular” at our Saturday services (they begin at 8:30 a.m. – you may come a little later if you wish) and our Sunday morning breakfast minyan (9:00 a.m. – be prompt, please!). I am confident that you will not disappoint me. Cordially, Rabbi Norman Lamm
Bar & Bat Mitzvah

Outline

Yoni's Bar Mitzvah (1997)

His size – intimidates me; my BM – orange crate. Tribute his parents: Rivkie – & fabulous sisters – (her parents)… & Josh – calm, normal, wise – & his bro/sisters (his mother). In both cases – pleasure note frndshp שבת אחים. ואתה עיף ויגע ולא ירא אלקים… תמחה את זכר עמלק מתחת השמים. Then: physical eradication; but today, how מקיים המצוה? Answer: by fighting contemporary evil… but also: by building up our own moral stature. Rabbis: “ואתה עיף ויגע” – זה ישראל – “ולא ירא אלקים” – זה עמלק. So, reverse it: instead of tired/weary – energetic… instead of Amalek having no fear of God, we do… We are surrounded by Amalek-type elements – certain bitter enemies… etc. BUT worse: defections from Judaism, ignorance, occasionally unethical behavior by religious Jews… So, the battleground has shifted from military to ideological… Our task – make Torah more central in our lives, make Torah more desirable to other Jews and non-Jews by our conduct – more desirable, more attractive. Hinted at in gematria: תמחה את זכר עמלק = מצוות 240 – 227 = 13… age of. Yoni: you’re strong and athletic, so fight evil… but more important: you’re gentle (vegetarian), warm, affable. Concentrate on the positive: מצוות… erase Amalek by… Moreover: 13 = אחד & אהבה – with abundant love of ה׳, תורה, ישראל – and realization that each individual must assume he’s the אחד, the only one who can do his assigned task…
Bar & Bat Mitzvah

Synagogue Sermon

Sidra Bo Bar Mitzvah - Teffilin, Dov Goldman (1967)

(Although his Bar Mitzvah was the week after, I used a passage from Bo because his Bar Mitzvah pilpul dealt with this subject matter) In your discourse you spoke of the law of Rabbi Akiva that one need not lay the teffilin on the Sabbath, because teffilin is a "sign" (ote) and the Sabbath is similarly a "sign", and therefore if one observes the Sabbath he is exempt from laying the teffilin. The great-grandson of the Besht, author of Degel Mahane Ephraim, sees this in the words of the Sidra in which God tells Moses to come to Pharoah le’maan shiti ototai be'kirbo -- in order to place my sign>against him. Literally, this means in order to perform wonders and miracles on Pharoah and the Egyptians which would testify to the power of God in redeeming Israel. However, the word ote means that only the sign in sense of a miracle, but also sign in sense of a reminder. This means, says our author, that out of the agony of Pharoah and Egypt, the source of su much -- of our bitterness and persecution, we will emerge with a great victory: two "signs" that God will give us and that will be with us till the end of days -- the Sabbath and the teffilin. May you remember this, for throughout life each man faces his Pharoah and his Egypt, not once but many times. From every such event, from every such crisis, may you emerge with the spark of holiness and nobility and sublimity -- your "sign".
Bo Bar & Bat Mitzvah