Andrea's and Morris' Bimah Speeches

Rachel's Bat Mitzvah

Andrea's Speech from the Bimah:

Rachel - Today is a rite of passage toward becoming an adult. We have watched you grow and today are proud to see the Jewish woman you are becoming. You did a wonderful job chanting your torah and haftorah. Clearly those years of Hebrew school paid off. Just as importantly we've witnessed the growth of your Jewish identity and values. That your Bat Mitzvah is on sukkot is especially meaningful since you have undertaken many mitzvah projects relating to food. In Connecticut you helped in the soup kitchen. Here at [our Temple] you have assisted Isaiah 58 with the Thanksgiving and Passover food drive and making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the poor. But you have helped people in other ways such as volunteering at [a local nursing home] down the street. Your own emerging value system and the strength you show in following your beliefs and principals is seen in your choice to become a vegetarian. Your growing maturity is evident in the way you adapted to a move to a new home and school and made friends many of whom are here today to celebrate your Bat Mitzvah with you. In short, we are very proud of you and love you very much.

Morris' Speech from the Bimah:

Rachel - We are very proud of the job you have done on the bimah today. Indeed we are proud of the intellectual, emotional and moral development that you have demonstrated over the years. It seems such a short time ago that you attacked those different shaped blocks, figuring out in no time what went where, and then throwing them aside for new challenges. When you learned to walk, it was more like you learned to plow through and over anything in your way. Your drive to excel at whatever you do and your drive to learn were apparent even then. Right up to the present, they have continued to be defining traits for you. Along the way, with little prompting from your mother or me, you have developed a strong sense of justice and of right and wrong. I have no doubt that your moral compass is strongly set to guide you along the path required by our religion. But justice and moral fortitude are nothing without compassion. Here too you have made us proud. Your work at the soup kitchen in Connecticut, the walks for hunger, the Thanksgiving food drive, the peanut butter and jelly drives, your Mitzvah Day activities and your work at [a local nursing home] are evidence of your compassion for the less fortunate. Today's service recognizes what we have known for quite awhile - you are a mature young woman, capable of taking on adult responsibilities. We love you very much for all these things and more.

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	Andrea's Speech from the Bimah:
	Rachel - Today is a rite of passage toward becoming an adult. We have watched you grow and today are proud to see the Jewish woman you are becoming. You did a wonderful job chanting your torah and haftorah. Clearly those years of Hebrew school paid off. Just as importantly we've witnessed the growth of your Jewish identity and values. That your Bat Mitzvah is on sukkot is especially meaningful since you have undertaken many mitzvah projects relating to food. In Connecticut you helped in the soup kitchen. Here at [our Temple] you have assisted Isaiah 58 with the Thanksgiving and Passover food drive and making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the poor. But you have helped people in other ways such as volunteering at [a local nursing home] down the street. Your own emerging value system and the strength you show in following your beliefs and principals is seen in your choice to become a vegetarian. Your growing maturity is evident in the way you adapted to a move to a new home and school and made friends many of whom are here today to celebrate your Bat Mitzvah with you. In short, we are very proud of you and love you very much.
	Morris' Speech from the Bimah:
	Rachel - We are very proud of the job you have done on the bimah today. Indeed we are proud of the intellectual, emotional and moral development that you have demonstrated over the years. It seems such a short time ago that you attacked those different shaped blocks, figuring out in no time what went where, and then throwing them aside for new challenges. When you learned to walk, it was more like you learned to plow through and over anything in your way. Your drive to excel at whatever you do and your drive to learn were apparent even then. Right up to the present, they have continued to be defining traits for you. Along the way, with little prompting from your mother or me, you have developed a strong sense of justice and of right and wrong. I have no doubt that your moral compass is strongly set to guide you along the path required by our religion. But justice and moral fortitude are nothing without compassion. Here too you have made us proud. Your work at the soup kitchen in Connecticut, the walks for hunger, the Thanksgiving food drive, the peanut butter and jelly drives, your Mitzvah Day activities and your work at [a local nursing home] are evidence of your compassion for the less fortunate. Today's service recognizes what we have known for quite awhile - you are a mature young woman, capable of taking on adult responsibilities. We love you very much for all these things and more.