I will admit that I was nervous for him, as he had a lot to work on and didn't have the same formal Hebrew training as his peers. However, he is able to sight read Hebrew really well and with my husband as his tutor, he worked diligently to learn his parsha (Torah portion) and Haftarah. He ended up only doing three aliyot (sections) of his parsha, but he had to chant everything and trope is challenging. We wanted him to do well with a small amount rather than get burned out on a large amount. That plan worked out well and he did such an amazing job. He also wrote his own speech and it sounded great. He was able to tie some concepts together and have them make sense and be meaningful. He even added some humor to it. He already has a natural "stage presence" and that worked to his benefit during his speech.
His celebration the following day was even better than I was expecting. The food was great, the room looked festive, and the entertainment was a hit (we had a caricature artist and a magician, both whom I highly recommend). It was great to have friends from our community, friends from out of town, and family all in one room to share in our simcha.
Without any further ado, here's (part of) the speech:
I will admit right off the bat that I’m not much of a speech writer. However, I am a blogger and I love making lists. So I’m going to do a list of 10 things I love about my son. It may give you “the clemps” so have a tissue handy.
1. He loves musicals. As if that weren’t obvious or anything! I enjoy watching musicals with him either on stage or as a movie. One of the most amazing experiences was seeing Hamilton last year. Especially since we had memorized all the music together. I had a great time listening to Broadway soundtracks with him on our rides to and from musical theater camp and playing Carpool Karaoke each time. I think the biggest argument we’ve ever had was about song lyrics from Into the Woods. He has since learned never to go in against a Broadway expert when laundry is on the line.
2. He’s easy to talk with. I end up losing track of time when I go to say good night to him and we get into a long conversation. A long time ago, someone gave me a compliment I treasure. They said “I love talking to you.” I could say the same about my son, but I want to amend it to “talking WITH you.” The conversation is never one sided and we even learn new things about each other.
3. I only hear good things about him from other people. Most recently, it was when he was volunteering at a local Kosher food pantry. Some of the women there told me how nice and polite he is. I’ve heard variations of great things from his teachers, my friends, and so on. It always makes my heart soar and I kvell each time he is praised.
4. He makes me laugh a lot. He does impressions, acts out songs, tells jokes, and does physical comedy, like in his recent performance at camp, where he received applause from pretending to faint on stage. He’ll have me on the floor in tears from doing an impression of my laugh!
5. He likes to read. That’s genetic though. At least on my side of the family. Even so, I love coming into his room and seeing his massive book collection, which is starting to rival mine. After I read Wonder a few years ago, I gave it to him and we had fun discussing it afterward. I hope we can do that with more books in the future. I recently bought him The Outsiders and am excited for him to read it soon. I love his excitement over books.
6. He’s good to his siblings. This is so important to me in cementing his future relationship with his brother and sister. I know they have their fights, as all siblings do, but he is really there for them as the oldest of three. He and his sister have a lot of common interests and I love how they bond. He’s always the first to comfort her if she’s sad. I love listening to his jam sessions on the piano with his brother. They also joke around together and will play nicely when they think no one’s watching.
7. He’s a great cook. I’ve let him take over baking desserts and making matzo balls for the soup. He’s learned other things that he makes on his own by just following recipes or watching web tutorials. He never fails to impress me in the kitchen. I love his passion for cooking too.
8. He does really well in school. I’ve never had a bad parent-teacher conference. He’s always stayed on top of his homework and he strives for greatness in all of his classes. It has paid off, as he received straight A's on his sixth grade report card and made it into National Junior Honor Society. That’s something to be proud of!
9. He has a positive outlook on life. It takes a lot to really bother him. He always sees the good in people and situations, even when I can’t. He’s genuinely happy most of the time and his optimism is infectious.
10. He’s the perfect best friend. I’ve been told that we shouldn’t say our kids are our best friends. However, it’s hard not to think of my son as one of mine, as he has all the qualities one should look for in a best friend, such as kindness, caring, loyalty, honesty, and a good sense of humor. Anyone who already considers him their best friend is very lucky.
There is plenty more I could say, but for now I just have a few little things to add.
My son’s Bar Mitzvah happens to be the same weekend I had my Bat Mitzvah. I love that we share an anniversary of this meaningful time in both of our lives.
It also happens to be nine years since we first moved to this community. Some of you here have seen him grow from a four year-old into the young man he is today. Others have joined us during various stops on this journey. We’re glad to share this event with our community and we appreciate how welcoming everyone has been to us this entire time.
I want to wish one more Mazel Tov to my son. While pride is not the word I’m looking for, I’m proud of you already! I know you’re going to do great things in your life and I’m excited to see what awaits you on your journey and take you to the chuppah. I love you so much!
