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March 8, 1993

Introduction to Tova Warburg's Bat Mitzvah Talk (1993)

Bar & Bat Mitzvah
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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

Speech

Tova Warburg's Bat Mitzvah (1993)

Just before the climax of the Purim story, after King Achashverosh orders Haman to dress Mordecai in royal clothes and have him mount the royal horse, Haman returns to his wife Zeresh and his counselors (whom the Megillah sarcastically calls חכמים). He tells them of the reversal of his fortunes and how he now has been ordered to give honor to Mordecai, the man he wanted to execute by hanging. Zeresh and the advisors give him no encouragement at all. Instead, we read:ויאמרו לו חכמיו וזרש אשתו, אם מזרע היהודים מרדכי אשר החילות לנפול לפניו לא תוכל לו כי נפל תפול לפניו. "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the seed of the Jews (by which they meant that he is of Jewish descent), you will not win over him, but you will surely fall before him". Now, that is a very strange thing to say. Didn't they know, from the very beginning, that Mordecai is a Jew? Wasn't that the very reason Haman hated him? Why, then, the word אם, "if" Mordecai is of the children or seed of the Jews? I heard of a wonderful answer that was given by a very great personality — Rabbi Meir Shapira, who was the founder and Rosh Yeshiva of the great ישיבת חכמי לובלין. He was especially important to our family, because in 1925, when he visited the United States and was in New York, my great-great-grandfather, Rabbi Yehoshua Baumol, זכר צדיק לברכה, invited him to be the מסדר קדושין and preside at the wedding ceremony of his oldest daughter and her husband. They were my great-grandparents, Zeide and Bobbe Lammעליהם השלום, whom I loved very much. Rabbi Shapira offered a very interesting and important answer. He pointed to a marvelous story recorded in the גמרא מגילה דף ט"ז עמוד א. The Gemara says: "ויקח המן את הלבוש ואת הסום" — Haman took the royal robes and the horse to Mordecai; אזל אשכחיה דיתבי רבנן קמיה ומחוי להו הלכות קמיצה לרבנן — He went and found Mordecai teachimg his students. He was in the middle of a שעור about how the כהן performs קמיצה, the taking of a fistful of flour for the מנ…
Parshat Zachor & Purim 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