Michael's Bar Mitzvah
Please find the speeches by my parents, sisters and myself.
Click Here For My Speech
Good morning, Rabbi Cohen, Ḥazzan Goller, Mrs. Leber, Mrs. Pavane, Mr. Cohen and everyone here today.
In my parshah, G-d instructs Moses to send 12 spies into the Holy Land, one from each tribe. Their mission was to scout out the land and then to report back whether the land is barren or fertile, what kind of people are living there, and if the locals seem likely to be hostile to the Israelites or welcome them. The spies sent by Moses were worthy and honorable people. After 40 days, they return from their mission to the Promised Land and each spy is asked to report his findings. All of them agree that the land is filled with riches, that it is a land of milk and honey, that giant grapes grow everywhere on giant vines. However, ten of the spies also reported that the inhabitants looked like giants, that they seemed very strong, and that it felt very likely that the Israelites could never win against them. The other 2, Joshua and Caleb, although they agree about the richness of the land, say confidently that the Israelites should not worry because they will definitely be able to defeat the hostile inhabitants of the land. The Israelites begin to panic and focus on the words of the 10 instead of the two. They lose their faith and complain to Moses about their concern of an uncertain future, then seem to want to return to Egypt and become slaves again. For this lack of faith, G-d punishes the Israelites and sentences them to wander for 40 years in the desert—long enough for the entire generation of those who left Egypt except for Joshua and Caleb to die out.
The big question is did the Israelites deserve this punishment. Moses picked able, intelligent people. The Israelites had no reason to believe that the 10 spies’ reports were inaccurate. In fact, all of the spies agreed on the beauty and richness of the land and only differed with respect to the best path forward for the nation to take. The people chose to follow the majority of 10 and ignore the minority of just 2…and they were [Air quotes] “punished” for that? Wouldn’t most people naturally follow the majority?
Now the reason I did “air quotes” when I said “punished” is because in my opinion they were not really punished. You may argue they had to wander in the desert for 40 years instead of living in a gorgeous place. But what if they weren't ready for that, if by voting to follow the ten they were indicating that they weren’t going to be the ones to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that the land would belong to their descendants. This generation had all been slaves for their entire lives. They had no self-confidence and underestimated themselves because they were used to being treated like objects. They lived in fear, always wondering if today one of their taskmasters was going to beat them or even kill them. When Moses sent the spies into Israel, they all saw the same amazing land. But the slave mentality of the ten made them afraid and unsure of themselves and so to embrace the majority report that they wouldn't be able to win because they were too weak to be victorious. And it was for this that G-d made them wander in the desert for 40 years, an opportunity to change the mindset of the Israelites.
Forty years later, there would be a new generation of Israelites, one never burdened with slavery and filled with self-confidence. So the years of wandering were a punishment and a gift at the same time. God taught the Israelites that although He would always be there, He was going to leave it up to them to find the confidence not to underestimate themselves and to find the courage to risk taking some leaps of faith. This is true even in modern day society. If we think we can do something, we push ourselves and accomplish it. But, when we think the battle will be an uphill one and lose faith in ourselves, many times we prefer not even to bother trying rather than facing the possibility of failure. The lesson here is clear: we should persevere when we face challenges that seem insurmountable and believe that we can do anything we put our minds to. And we see that this shift in ideology did take place: when Joshua sent in a new generation of spies 40 years later, they reported back with confidence and positivity about their prospects for victory.
I personally hope that if it was me, I would have realized that we had been through so many bad scenarios, yet G-d had always been there for us. After all, the Israelites had just witnessed the amazing miracles of the 10 plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea. I would think even if we thought of ourselves as weak, the same almighty G-d who destroyed the armies of Pharaoh and set us free would be fighting by our side.
In today's world, I face many similar interior battles. There is peer pressure to do things that may not always take me along the right path. There will be situations where things are simply out of my control such as, G-d forbid, accidents or wars. I take it upon myself as a Bar-Mitzvah to remember that, as long as I have faith in G-d and that He is there by my side, I will not live in fear of the unknown. Furthermore, this faith will instill in me the self-confidence to not merely follow the crowd, but do what in my heart I believe to be just and proper.
I would like to take this opportunity to give a special thanks to my parents for raising me with this belief and always believing I am up to any challenge. Their faith in me has taught me to think out of the box and not be afraid of failure as they will be there to support my ideas. I would also like to thank my sisters Ellie and Rachel for always brightening my day, helping me with my homework, and always being there to talk and have fun. I would like to thank Ḥazzan Goller and Rabbi Cohen for helping prepare for today, and everyone at the synagogue and Hebrew School that has helped with my education and instilled in me faith in G-d. Finally, I would like to especially thank all of you, my family and friends, here today. Knowing that all of you are there for me, gives me the faith to know I have an awesome future ahead of me.
In my parshah, G-d instructs Moses to send 12 spies into the Holy Land, one from each tribe. Their mission was to scout out the land and then to report back whether the land is barren or fertile, what kind of people are living there, and if the locals seem likely to be hostile to the Israelites or welcome them. The spies sent by Moses were worthy and honorable people. After 40 days, they return from their mission to the Promised Land and each spy is asked to report his findings. All of them agree that the land is filled with riches, that it is a land of milk and honey, that giant grapes grow everywhere on giant vines. However, ten of the spies also reported that the inhabitants looked like giants, that they seemed very strong, and that it felt very likely that the Israelites could never win against them. The other 2, Joshua and Caleb, although they agree about the richness of the land, say confidently that the Israelites should not worry because they will definitely be able to defeat the hostile inhabitants of the land. The Israelites begin to panic and focus on the words of the 10 instead of the two. They lose their faith and complain to Moses about their concern of an uncertain future, then seem to want to return to Egypt and become slaves again. For this lack of faith, G-d punishes the Israelites and sentences them to wander for 40 years in the desert—long enough for the entire generation of those who left Egypt except for Joshua and Caleb to die out.
The big question is did the Israelites deserve this punishment. Moses picked able, intelligent people. The Israelites had no reason to believe that the 10 spies’ reports were inaccurate. In fact, all of the spies agreed on the beauty and richness of the land and only differed with respect to the best path forward for the nation to take. The people chose to follow the majority of 10 and ignore the minority of just 2…and they were [Air quotes] “punished” for that? Wouldn’t most people naturally follow the majority?
Now the reason I did “air quotes” when I said “punished” is because in my opinion they were not really punished. You may argue they had to wander in the desert for 40 years instead of living in a gorgeous place. But what if they weren't ready for that, if by voting to follow the ten they were indicating that they weren’t going to be the ones to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that the land would belong to their descendants. This generation had all been slaves for their entire lives. They had no self-confidence and underestimated themselves because they were used to being treated like objects. They lived in fear, always wondering if today one of their taskmasters was going to beat them or even kill them. When Moses sent the spies into Israel, they all saw the same amazing land. But the slave mentality of the ten made them afraid and unsure of themselves and so to embrace the majority report that they wouldn't be able to win because they were too weak to be victorious. And it was for this that G-d made them wander in the desert for 40 years, an opportunity to change the mindset of the Israelites.
Forty years later, there would be a new generation of Israelites, one never burdened with slavery and filled with self-confidence. So the years of wandering were a punishment and a gift at the same time. God taught the Israelites that although He would always be there, He was going to leave it up to them to find the confidence not to underestimate themselves and to find the courage to risk taking some leaps of faith. This is true even in modern day society. If we think we can do something, we push ourselves and accomplish it. But, when we think the battle will be an uphill one and lose faith in ourselves, many times we prefer not even to bother trying rather than facing the possibility of failure. The lesson here is clear: we should persevere when we face challenges that seem insurmountable and believe that we can do anything we put our minds to. And we see that this shift in ideology did take place: when Joshua sent in a new generation of spies 40 years later, they reported back with confidence and positivity about their prospects for victory.
I personally hope that if it was me, I would have realized that we had been through so many bad scenarios, yet G-d had always been there for us. After all, the Israelites had just witnessed the amazing miracles of the 10 plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea. I would think even if we thought of ourselves as weak, the same almighty G-d who destroyed the armies of Pharaoh and set us free would be fighting by our side.
In today's world, I face many similar interior battles. There is peer pressure to do things that may not always take me along the right path. There will be situations where things are simply out of my control such as, G-d forbid, accidents or wars. I take it upon myself as a Bar-Mitzvah to remember that, as long as I have faith in G-d and that He is there by my side, I will not live in fear of the unknown. Furthermore, this faith will instill in me the self-confidence to not merely follow the crowd, but do what in my heart I believe to be just and proper.
I would like to take this opportunity to give a special thanks to my parents for raising me with this belief and always believing I am up to any challenge. Their faith in me has taught me to think out of the box and not be afraid of failure as they will be there to support my ideas. I would also like to thank my sisters Ellie and Rachel for always brightening my day, helping me with my homework, and always being there to talk and have fun. I would like to thank Ḥazzan Goller and Rabbi Cohen for helping prepare for today, and everyone at the synagogue and Hebrew School that has helped with my education and instilled in me faith in G-d. Finally, I would like to especially thank all of you, my family and friends, here today. Knowing that all of you are there for me, gives me the faith to know I have an awesome future ahead of me.
Click Here For My Parents' Speech
We want to thank all of you, our family and friends, for coming to celebrate with us in person. It's been a tough couple of years and we know how lucky we are to be able to celebrate with you. We would like to acknowledge all of our many family and friends who could not make it today, and apologize to our friends, colleagues and acquaintances that we would have otherwise happily invited had we been in better times.
Michael you did great this morning! All the months of hard work truly paid off. You chanted your torah portion “Shelach” beautifully and then eloquently spoke about how it relates to your personal challenges in today’s life. The conclusion you drew that the Israelites were “punished” for lack of confidence in themselves and the spies lack of faith in G-d---was very intuitive. You spoke of how when you have confidence in your self and beliefs you will always do what is just and proper regardless of whether it is popular or not.
We hope that you remember the words you spoke today throughout your life and realize that the only thing that can get in your way of success is yourself. We hope your faith in G-d and all your achievements you have already accomplished, has already instilled that confidence in you.
Michael, as you know Mee-cha-el was the name of your great-uncle who was a warm loving, intelligent man of unlimited talents. He had an incredible sense of humor and could make anyone smile in any situation. Unfortunately he passed away a little before you were born. Dod Mee-cha-el’s spirit lives on in you.
You are an amazing young man. Your charisma lights up a room. You know how to work the crowd with your jokes, magic tricks and philosophical conversations. You have a fun nature and know how to get along with everyone, both younger and older than you. You are a very talented young man and in any given week there are at least a handful of projects that you are working on.
Your middle name Pearce is after your great-grandfather Peretz. The name in Hebrew represents strength, royalty and characteristics of a great leader. Your Great Grandfather was a man who endured and gave everything to save his family and other innocent people during the Holocaust.
Michael, you are a born leader and advocate for others. If you see someone being treated unfairly, you are always the first to stick up for them. During a team building school trip, your strength and leadership skills shined. You were able to think outside the box to solve tasks. And you are still always up for a challenge. You don’t just like to take someone's advice about anything, you like to figure it out for yourself.
You have truly honored your great-grandfather and great-uncles memory. Michael, we are so proud of the young man you have become. You have already accomplished so much. You were the youngest in your dojo history to get a black belt, made all-county as a trumpet player, performed street magic, invented your own card tricks, DJ, code on the web, film and produce short films.
You have learned to build electronics out of circuits, weld items, create your own minecraft server while building your own team of staff, not to mention that you make the best guacamole and iced coffee! We are in awe of your determination and thirst for knowledge. You are very strong willed and never take no or failure as an option, you just push harder and dig deeper for more knowledge.
But most importantly you have a huge heart. You are always concerned for others and often put their needs ahead of your own. You are an amazing little brother to Ellie and Rachel and an amazing big brother to Snowball and Sadie. We couldn’t have asked for a more well rounded son. We are all so proud of what an amazing man you have become.
Continue reaching for the unreachable because you will accomplish great things!
We love you so much,
Mom and Dad
Michael you did great this morning! All the months of hard work truly paid off. You chanted your torah portion “Shelach” beautifully and then eloquently spoke about how it relates to your personal challenges in today’s life. The conclusion you drew that the Israelites were “punished” for lack of confidence in themselves and the spies lack of faith in G-d---was very intuitive. You spoke of how when you have confidence in your self and beliefs you will always do what is just and proper regardless of whether it is popular or not.
We hope that you remember the words you spoke today throughout your life and realize that the only thing that can get in your way of success is yourself. We hope your faith in G-d and all your achievements you have already accomplished, has already instilled that confidence in you.
Michael, as you know Mee-cha-el was the name of your great-uncle who was a warm loving, intelligent man of unlimited talents. He had an incredible sense of humor and could make anyone smile in any situation. Unfortunately he passed away a little before you were born. Dod Mee-cha-el’s spirit lives on in you.
You are an amazing young man. Your charisma lights up a room. You know how to work the crowd with your jokes, magic tricks and philosophical conversations. You have a fun nature and know how to get along with everyone, both younger and older than you. You are a very talented young man and in any given week there are at least a handful of projects that you are working on.
Your middle name Pearce is after your great-grandfather Peretz. The name in Hebrew represents strength, royalty and characteristics of a great leader. Your Great Grandfather was a man who endured and gave everything to save his family and other innocent people during the Holocaust.
Michael, you are a born leader and advocate for others. If you see someone being treated unfairly, you are always the first to stick up for them. During a team building school trip, your strength and leadership skills shined. You were able to think outside the box to solve tasks. And you are still always up for a challenge. You don’t just like to take someone's advice about anything, you like to figure it out for yourself.
You have truly honored your great-grandfather and great-uncles memory. Michael, we are so proud of the young man you have become. You have already accomplished so much. You were the youngest in your dojo history to get a black belt, made all-county as a trumpet player, performed street magic, invented your own card tricks, DJ, code on the web, film and produce short films.
You have learned to build electronics out of circuits, weld items, create your own minecraft server while building your own team of staff, not to mention that you make the best guacamole and iced coffee! We are in awe of your determination and thirst for knowledge. You are very strong willed and never take no or failure as an option, you just push harder and dig deeper for more knowledge.
But most importantly you have a huge heart. You are always concerned for others and often put their needs ahead of your own. You are an amazing little brother to Ellie and Rachel and an amazing big brother to Snowball and Sadie. We couldn’t have asked for a more well rounded son. We are all so proud of what an amazing man you have become.
Continue reaching for the unreachable because you will accomplish great things!
We love you so much,
Mom and Dad
Click Here For My Sisters' Speech
[ELLIE AND RACHEL ALTERNATING]
Heyyy, I’m Ellie, Michael’s oldest sister. And today we’re here to talk to you about our parent’s favorite child—I mean our wonderful little brother. Where do we start? Michael is an amazing brother. He’s a very complex person with many different sides and layers. He’s charismatic, talented, kind hearted, helpful, loving, smart, goofy, hilarious, and so much more. Words cannot define how lucky we are to have Michael as our little brother.
Hi everyone! My name is Rachel, and I’m Michael’s second oldest sister. Michael may be our younger brother, but he never fails to teach us new things everyday. Whether this new information is academic focused, or simply about life, we always take it in.
Michael is undeniably kind hearted and a little Einstein. He is fascinated in everything and anything that serves as a challenge to his mind. There have been countless dinners where he would talk through current events that seemed to have no direct solution, or complex math or science equations that he was determined to figure out.
As his sisters, we’re sure you would all expect us to go on and on about how Michael used to run around the backyard naked when he was two, or even how he recently got stuck in the doggy door like Winnie the Pooh in a honey jar. But, we have decided, today, we are above that. Believe us, there are plenty of embarrassing moments featuring Michael’s humorous attitude, but his extraordinary personality seems to outshine it every time.
Michael is creative, witty, and fun-loving. He is persistent and versatile. He has countless accomplishments and talents we can proudly brag about. Just to name a few, Michael has spent hours crafting together a Minecraft server; he is an amazing musician on the trumpet and can quickly pick up several other instruments as well. Michael can execute magic tricks perfectly, leaving a crowd in awe.
[ELLIE] Okay, in all seriousness, this speech is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to write—not because I couldn’t think of anything to write, but because there are so many things I wanted to say, and it is so difficult to choose the things you want to include and the things you want to keep just for yourself and close to your heart because they are that special. With Michael, the latter applies to a lot of our sibling relationship. That being said, I suppose I don't have much of a choice, but to relinquish some of this secrecy. Michael and I have so many amazing memories together. Whether we’re watching TV shows and making inside jokes, laughing our heads off for no reason, or bursting out into song and having impromptu dance parties, we always have lots of fun. We’re also very close. In fact, Michael made me promise that I’ll see him at least once a week when I leave for college in September. He’s extremely loving and values family. The bond we have will never break no matter how far away we are. I can’t wait to make even more memories with Michael that I will treasure forever.
[RACHEL] As Michael’s sister, I can tell you there is never a dull moment when you are with him. Friends and family would know this statement to be true. Even if Michael and I are simply binging a show or just exchanging weird looks from across the room you know we are having a good time. Michael has a super competitive nature which can easily make any game exciting. We could be screaming at each other as we race to first in Mario Kart and spend hours in the backyard passing a lacrosse ball. Michael, although I may not be one for hugs, yours can easily turn a bad day into a better one, and I can always count on your heartfelt compliments to put a smile on my face. I enjoy every moment I spend with you and I hope you know how lucky I feel to have you as my brother.
Michael, we love you so much! We hope you always know that. You did an outstanding job on your service and we’re so proud of you! Mazel Tov!!
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