By Donna Weiser (4-20-09)

Today is eleven days, which is one week and four days of the Omer.

 

It is a tradition to count the days between Passover and Shavuot, as we mark our freedom from slavery and celebrate our freedom to accept Torah. This is called "counting the omer." This year we will observe the tradition of "counting the omer" by sharing stories about the many different ways that we have been turned on to Jewish learning, and through Jewish learning to Torah.

My younger sister, TEBH President Sue Brucker, and I were raised in a Conservative home where my parents kept kosher and were observant of the Jewish holidays and rituals. Our parents were both raised in Orthodox homes, so even "Conservative" was at times, challenging for them.
 
At age 12, my Hebrew School classmates were all preparing for their B'nai Mitzvot.  My parents, however, would not allow me to do so because, according to their Orthodox background, girls were not supposed to be called to the Torah. I really liked Hebrew School, loved services and was very active in the Junior Choir.  I couldn't believe that I had to miss the experience of becoming a Bat Mitzvah simply because I was a girl.   I was even more frustrated 3 years later, after moving to California, when my parents became more lenient in their beliefs and Sue to become a Bat Mitzvah.
 
Fast forward to 1979, when, as Assistant Program Director at Camp Hess Kramer, I helped prepare kids for their B'nai Mitzvot by coordinating their studies with the Camp Rabbi (Steve Feinstein) and tutoring them in Hebrew.
 
Early that summer, I mentioned to Rabbi Feinstein that I thought it was ironic that I was helping these wonderful kids prepare for their B'nai Mitvot when I had never had the opportunity to be called to the Torah. He said, "It's never too late - why not become a Bat Mitzvah this summer?"
 
So, in the summer of 1979, in the beautiful chapel at Camp Hess Kramer, a most magical place, I was called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah. My parents and sister were there to celebrate with all the kids were attending camp that summer! 

 
Studying with the Rabbi that summer was a very special time and I'm sure that wonderful experience meant more to me at 24 than the "Bat Mitzvah" that I missed in Chicago when I was 13.
 
By Donna Weiser

These stories are brought to you by the Temple Emanuel RE-IMAGINE project, an 18-month initiative sponsored by Hebrew Union College, devoted to re-thinking and re-structuring our religious school.