“Are you?” she asks.
“Me?”
“Well, I mean…you don’t feel bad, do you? Because you wanted one?”
“I am one, Rachel. I mean, I will be on my birthday next month.”
It is just the two of us; the doors to the social hall are closed. We can hear the music swelling, the clarinets and trumpets. The voice of the singer. We can hear all the happy voices mixing together, creating a kind of music of their own. It is cacophonous and wonderful.
But we stand alone together in the center of this huge lobby. Two small dots, two girls. Two best friends, separated at birth.
“What do you mean?” Rachel asks.
“Because I am Jewish. Because my mother is Jewish, I became a bat mitzvah when I turned twelve. Automatically. I don’t have to do anything. Just be me. My aunt Gert told me that.”
Just then the doors fly open and Sandi Miller pokes her head out.
“Rachel! Caroline! Come quick. The hora. It’s time for the hora!” Her face is flushed and her makeup is running, and her hair is already coming out of her upsweep, but I have never seen her look prettier, happier. More excited.
“Coming, Mom,” Rachel says. She turns back to me. “You’re kidding. Is that true? I did all this work and studying and I didn’t have to?”
I smile and shake my head. “Nope.”
But I know it was all worth it and so does she. It is the happiest day of her life. Her life so far.
“You are a bat mitzvah, Rachel. Just because you’re Jewish,” I say.
“Now you tell me!” Rachel shouts.
We link arms and together we run back inside, to eat and dance, and to celebrate who we are.
Glossary
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bar mitzvah: a Jewish boy who has reached the age of thirteen, who is now obligated as an adult member of the community to obey the “mitzvoth” (commandments). One does not “have” a bar mitzvah, one becomes a bar mitzvah. Literally means “son of the commandment.”
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bat mitzvah: a Jewish girl who has reached the age where she is now obligated as an adult member of the community to obey the “mitzvoth” (commandments). In traditional Judaism, this happens at age twelve, but more liberal circles have set the age at thirteen. One does not “have” a bat mitzvah, one becomes a bat mitzvah. Literally means “daughter of the commandment.”
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dreidel: a spinning top with four sides, played as a game on Hanukkah. Each side of the dreidel has a Hebrew letter, which creates an acronym, translated from Hebrew as “a great miracle happened there.”
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keep kosher: to observe the laws of the Torah and its rabbinic interpreters concerning what foods are permissible to eat.
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knish: an eastern European food. A knish, round or rectangular in shape, consists of a filling (usually potato or meat), covered by dough, which is then baked or fried.
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menorah: the seven-branched candelabra that stood in the ancient holy temple in Jerusalem. Now, the word is how most people refer to a chanukiyah, the nine-branched candelabra used to celebrate the eight days of Hanukkah.
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oy vey: Yiddish expression of concern, translated as “woe is me.”
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peyes: the uncut and unshaven sideburns of religious Jewish men who are following a commandment in the Torah.
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Rosh Hashanah: literally, “head of the year.” This is the holiday marking the Jewish new year. This day begins the ten days of repentance, when Jews ask for forgiveness from those whom they have wronged. Customs of the holiday include attending prayer services, hearing the sound of the shofar (the ram’s horn), and eating apples dipped in honey to symbolize a sweet new year.
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shayna maideleh: Yiddish for “beautiful girl.”
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shivah: the period of intense mourning after the death of close relative. Shivah traditionally lasts seven days.
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shomer shabbos: one who observes the prohibitions against any type of work on the Sabbath, which particularly includes lighting fires. In modern days, one who is shomer shabbos does not use electricity.
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yarmulkes (or yarmulkas, or kippot): head coverings traditionally worn by men during a Jewish prayer service. They symbolize how Jews are always watched over by God (though some would say they symbolize that God is always above them).
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Yom Kippur: literally, “the day of atonement.” Observed on the tenth day of the new year; its customs include fasting and praying in atonement for one’s sins, and seeking forgiveness from God. It is the most serious and solemn day in the Jewish year.
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Nora Raleigh Baskin, The Truth About My Bat Mitzvah
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