As a self-proclaimed fashion diva at the time, I chose Jews and Fashion as my area of study. Needless to say, I havent started it yet. The occasion is her sons bar mitzvah and she wants her speech to strike just the right chord a blend of poignant, interesting, relevant, terse and funny. I know that a Jew is to say the Shema prayer twice How long did the actual slavery of Egypt last? Does the person regularly joke about these topics upon meeting a total stranger? Ask yourself: It can be difficult to answer these kinds of questions for yourself, so feel free to read it in front of someone else. So to show you all her silly side, here is Rachel and her best friend Leah no, I'm not making that up singing The Unicorn Song. (Otherwise known as Green Alligators and Long Necked Geese.) Youre celebrating your coming of age today and because of that, look what happened you forced your family from all over the world to come to your Bar Mitzvah. We listen to you struggle, complain and protest loudly with new challenges. Are you excited because its your childs Bar/Bat Mitzvah? Your notes could say home run with Bubbe's teeth as long as you know what it means, it's just fine. 2 0 obj And that was taken away from me with harsh comments about how unreligious and therefore wrong my bat mitzvah was. Tell a personal story that relates to your son/daughter. Your speech should sound authentic, not like a 1980s radio news report. Read our tips and examples of speeches and learn how to do it right. The foundation of your morality has already been built through 13 years of teaching from your parents and from learning about Judaism. Yes, I know they were in Hebrew, and I know I've been hearing you practice them for months, but it never gets old. Instant Speeches Ready to Download and Use Right NOW! Abilities like leading services or . If you start rambling endlessly youll notice people start to yawn and reach for their phones (if its not Shabbat). Your father and I did our best to figure out how we could best support you as an individual, but ultimately the hard work was entirely up to you. Emcee or Master of Ceremonies guide for weddings. The body of the piece will take up about 80 percent of your speaking time and will include the most detail, so start there. In fact, you don't need to sit down at all. We're going to talk about him later. Im so happy to see you all here for my Bar Mitzvah. Read our tips and examples of speeches from an older and younger sister and learn to do it right. Tip: Dont be a perfectionist about it. For females, this is done at 12 . And sometimes school and life can be boring or difficult. Deep down, though, it makes us feel good to have an identity, to have boundaries and limits. It's mid-2000s chic: strapless, poofy, purple and freckled, with big, black polka-dots. Notable people and events in the Jewish LA community. More like entry to pre-algebra and the local mall. As soon as she found out she'd been assigned Parshat Noach, she started looking up everything she could find about it. Then you're ready to write! The commandments of the Torah are not just chores we must do in order to earn reward in the World to Come. In 1974, two languages dominated the bar mitzvah speech of my father, Joe Mishell, "Yossi" to his family. For instance: Bubbie Nadine acts incredibly youthful, like shes a fraction of her age. On Hannukah, we get to open presents, light the menorah, and I love to play dreidel with my sister, Serena. When you come to service and daven, you are winning! Bar Mitzvah Speech The parasha I am reading in the Torah is called Tol'dot. Parents are encouraged to address the synagogue congregation at these events and it has been my custom to try to say something both a little more humorous and a little more meaningful than the typical . Jokes have a specific structure a setup and punch line, not the other way around. This guide is useful not just for parents. << /Length 15 0 R /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 1563 /Height 2500 Make your speech short & sweet, not long & tedious. As the designated editor-older sister hybrid, I have been charged with proofreading all documents pertaining to this event. That is kind of what I think happens when we light the candles on Friday night. You WON! There's no need to write in complete sentences, or even to write phrases that make sense to anyone but you. Rachel is compassion personified. With my own eyes, I have seen him separate the inferior lateral gluteous from the ventricular pectoralis. It is available as both book and ebook. Of course, for this to work, you'll have to start brainstorming in advance. Now, I can't stand up here and claim that Rachel is perfectly mature and composed and all of that. Your growth this past year in school has been absolutely remarkable. Jewish law considers a child incapable of parting with any property he owns, even items which the average person is not particular about. JFIF H H Exif MM * J R( i Z , , 8Photoshop 3.0 8BIM 8BIM% B~XICC_PROFILE HLino mntrRGB XYZ 1 acspMSFT IEC sRGB -HP cprt P 3desc lwtpt bkpt rXYZ gXYZ , bXYZ @ dmnd T pdmdd vued L view $lumi meas $tech 0 rTRC. She even sang the song about the humpty-back camels and the chimpanzees, but I'm pretty sure that was just to annoy her sister. You can certainly go that way if you want. For starters, most of the assembled dont even understand the Hebrew. There are a lot of things you can ask her, though. Sometimes these occasions have twice the cause to celebrate in the case of twin Mitzvah or sibling Mitzvah ceremonies (called B'nai Mitzvah for two boys and B'not Mitzvah for two girls). Feel free to send it to them if they could use some help. Yehudis Fletcher at her batmitzvah. He can learn to love God and want to serve Him and make Him happy and as in any healthy relationship God will likewise love and do for him. 2. My Rachel is smart. If so, then it could be fair game. I would like to thank my grandmother and grandfather, aunt and uncle and my two cousins, all of whom came . With greater effort, he can earn the revelation of Neshama, paralleling the world of Beriya. (Now, I can tell who here knows Hannah best, because all of you are looking very surprised right now.) Leah knows that she is my best friend and that today I thank God for the gift of her friendship. Multiple drafts. Rachel! But as someone who was already born with the skills Tefillin will help you learn, let me tell you - it's worth it. We can give them our set, making it theirs, but they are not considered capable of giving it back to us. Judaism can do the same thing for you. It is in one world. For those who may not know what a bar mitzvah is, it's the point in a young male's life when he is spiritually accepted into the Jewish community through a ceremonious reading of the Torah and a subsequent, slightly less ceremonious, devouring of food and awkward dancing. The synagogue kids have a traditional bar/bat mitzvah at their congregation, while the JCC ones can either plan a private bar/bat mitzvah or participate in the Brit Atid program. You have a brain. In fact, I PROMISE you: if you keep working hard throughout your life, youll achieve amazing things in life, in Torah, in Judo, everywhere. (It translates to compassion, for Rachel's Gentile friends.). Hello everyone. Personal stories & anecdotes from the past. Specifically, she found something that asked if Noah was truly righteous if he didn't warn anyone that the rain was coming. She went up and down the street, asking everyone if the governor told everyone to evacuate, would they just go, or would they make sure everyone had heard? One, we should move to a neighborhood with nicer people. Hello, everyone, and thank you for coming to congratulate Sarah on becoming bat mitzvah. He can behave if he feels he will get something out of it. Thank you Dad for the best things you give me and for all the good things you do for me. Children begin life as entirely selfish beings, not being able to think of anything beyond their own needs and wants. family member whos looking to write a speech for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah: parents, grandparents, siblings, friends you name it. Once something belongs to them, Jewish law assumes they will not be willing to part with it. Know your crowd. Yet we know that we are lucky because we have the freedom to practice our own faith. Life-long skills. Only at temple, so don't go getting any ideas. Match your body language and tone of voice to the words youre saying. Often the hardest part of writing a speech for your child's bar/bat mitzvah is getting started. If you can, include references to at least one of your stories. It's a time when family members make a great effort to be present no matter how far they have to travel. Your spouse, another of your children, or even a friend can give you more objective feedback than you can give yourself. Here are a few ideas to get you started: If you come up with a different theme, that's completely fine. How outsourcing saves time and thousands of dollars, How to write a job description that attracts top talent, What types of content are most effective for your business (and why). When you give a speech you shouldnt sound like an English professor you should sound like YOU. Just be cautious about sharing any stories that your daughter might find embarrassing. The d'var Torah is one of three speeches the students give at KI, where they lead the whole service for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. The following are some examples of how to deal with specific topics: If you joke about someones personal appearance, its important that your subject have a good sense of humor about the topic. The competition was caused by the parents' favoritism. When we reach that state, He invites us into a relationship with Him. Once you have your final draft, it's time to practice. Like me, Michael was born wanting to control his life more than either his father or I really wanted him to. Its the talent, combined with your hard work that makes you so successful. Three diverse machines. Everyone knows that and sees that But what no one sees is the hard work you put into everything do. Candle Lighting Times. Yosef, I dont know if you know how proud I am of you and everything youre doing: For those of you who dont know: Yosef is at the top of his class, at the top of his Judo team and pretty much everywhere else. Jokes can be as short as one sentence in length, but its important that the setup not go on too long; consider that your audience has been sitting in shul for several hours and a long setup might not play well. Maybe he didn't go the extra step and help others, but G-d didn't tell him to. Notice I highlighted the read part. If you dont mind, Id like to say a few words to Yosef. Have you been asked to give a salutatorian speech, and you're not sure how to start? Humor also relieves boredom and, wherever anxiety or tension exists, it breaks the ice. (Of course this is a gradual process, which for some begins much younger, while for others only barely begins at 13.). 2. Yesterday, just to be safe, we put a sign on the temple door: Wrong day! Michael, youre now about to begin a new era in your progression as a man. 14 0 obj Well, because we don't live in an afterschool special, Sarah didn't instantly convert the gossiper and make the other classmate instantly popular. Was Would we consider Adam and Eve to have been Jewish? 5 0 obj << /Type /Page /Parent 3 0 R /Resources 6 0 R /Contents 4 0 R /MediaBox [0 0 595.2756 841.8898] This Jewish mother from LA shared the unique speech she gave her son, a computer gamer, for his Bar Mitzvah. Effective humor often comes from the place where total honesty and believable experience meets playful heightening and even a touch of the absurd. This helps the piece to flow smoothly and sound polished. Thank you, everyone, for joining us tonight in celebrating our beloved sons Bar Mitzvah. What actually happens is that he can now care about someone else and if so, he can care about and begin a relationship with God. At her table, we had to include place settings for three stalkers.. Right now, though, I'm going to talk about you and how wonderful you are. For my bar mitzvah, I have used a portion of my bar mitzvah money to purchase for the synagogue, special booklets that have the Sabbath and holiday blessings . Your mother and I love you very much Forever and always! Sarah, my darling, I am so proud of you. You have plenty to do to prepare for your daughter's big cay, and adding one more thing might be too much. The haftarah can be as they say in show business a tough act to follow. I think she might say the same thing about me. Sample 1: The Value of Learning . Does anyone know where the Ark of the Covenant is today? Identify the Torah portion that corresponds to your daughter's bat mitzvah week. Since then, the ceremony has evolved according to Jewish traditions and beliefs. Twice exceptional (2e) stands for gifted with disabilities or learning differences. Now teenagers probably dont talk about faith too much. I have to speak at my nephews Bar Mitzvah in a few weeks. I'm happy to be doing this because it's part of growing up and becoming a bigger part of my Jewish community. What values or qualities does she share with that person? This is not the case this time. When boys are younger than age 13, and 12 for girls because everyone knows girls are more mature than boys, they are unaware of their spiritual selves. Hayden's Bar Mitzvah Speech. Select A Torah Portion. Could you imagine people listening to your speech, and halfway through wondering: who the hell does this guy think he is? Instead of talking about love and faith and strength, we spent our family bonding time reassuring Hannah that no, she was not going to become a human sacrifice. !, Bottom line: Write like you speak, Bevakasha. She's been the anti-gossip warrior since her first week at Hebrew school when there was a rumor going around that her classmate's father was in jail. If need be, watch and listen to some excellent speech-givers or roasters for an idea of timing and attitude. Being Uncomfortable is Important Sometimes. 2. Some dads are jokesters; some are disciplinarians. And this is what we celebrate at a Bar Mitzvah. 2023 The Shafer Center for Early Intervention. When it comes to the delivery, it doesnt hurt to recite the whole document at least a few times beforehand, carefully noting the best places for specific word emphasis and dramatic pausing, which you can notate on the page. To make this speech, all I need to do is stand up, look a little idiotic (not hard when you are me), tell a few jokes, and be confident. Michael, when you win a computer game, that gives you a strong sense of accomplishment. stream I dont even know if I want to still identify myself as Jewish anymore of course, this thought has been brought to fruition by more than just the hurtful comments, but they did play a part. Mazal tov on the event first of all and may your speech go well! Bar-Bat Mitzvah. If you're feeling nervous about giving a speech at your wedding, don't worry. It will be like a friendship, but one that is selfless. And I made a project. Al-brect, friends, and family. They are called (in ascending order) Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida. Without hesitation, the Rebbe answered, Tefillin. The professor was perplexed. Is Uncle Joe extremely tall? Unfortunately (or fortunately) youll be the writer, editor, and in this case also the speaker. Im happy to be doing this because its part of growing up and becoming a bigger part of my Jewish community. The principal said her clothes were distracting and too revealing. Compose.ly has you covered. Or are you excited (read: terrified) because youd like to give your son/daughter a nice Bar/Bat Mitzvah speech, but you have NO IDEA what to say (or where to start)?