The big day finally arrived. As dawn broke, I already knew that the weather was just going to be just perfect. As ordered, we were blessed with an wonderful sunny day.
Everything went according to plan.
We arrived at the synagogue at 8:00 a.m. so that we could get all the setting up completed before the guests arrived.
We got all our jobs done in record time, so that we even had a few minutes to squeeze in some photos.
The bar mitzvah ceremony was excellent. Everything went off without a hitch. Joshua was flawless in reading from the Torah for the first time and gave an excellent speech (known as a D'Var Torah). He related his Torah portion (i.e. Moses turning over the leadership of the Jewish People to Joshua, and the prophecies that Moses made regarding when the Jewish people would cross over into the promised land). Joshua did a wonderful job of contrasting those biblical prophecies with what really happened in history.
In addition to the Torah reading, Joshua did his entire Haftorah Portion (from the Book of Isaiah) in Hebrew. It was a huge portion and half way through we thought he was going to collapse from exhaustion. But, he did it all.
Being a lay led bar mitzvah (i.e. no rabbi) almost everyone in the congregation played a part int the service. Judi Amsel (Brith Sholem's president) co-led the service with Joshua. Jeff Shneider served as our gabai (led the Torah service) and a host of other congregants had aliyahs, read from the torah, and/or read prayers in English.
Special family honors included, both Aunt Janet & Grandma Pat participating in the generational passing of the Torah. In addition, they both had an aliyah (said the Hebrew blessing before and after a reader chanted from the Torah). Josh Lentz and David had the honor of closing the doors as we returned the Torah to the Ark. Gail Lentz read the "23rd psalm", Grandpa Phil read the "Prayer for Country", Grandma Carolynn read the "Prayer for Peace", and David read the "Prayer for Israel".
Grandma T. gave a beautiful speech about the origin of Joshua's name. After which, I gave the traditional parent speech (with the appropriate amount of mother "touchie feelie" memoirs). During the presentation of the tallit (Joshua's prayer shawl) I recounted the "remarkable coincidence" of it's previous owner being a past member of Congregation Brith Sholem. That story deserves a separate entry.
All in all, the entire service was flawless. Since we are not permitted to take photos during the ceremony, here are some of the pictures Molly was able to snap before the service began.
Dear friends Josh and Gail Lentz with Joshua.
Here's my nephews looking very rabbinical
as they review the prayers.
as they review the prayers.
(Joshua, Eden, David, Aunt Janet, & Aram)
Josh and David practicing how to close the doors of the Ark,
slowly and reverently.
slowly and reverently.
Grandma Pat (my mom) and Joshua.
Grandpa Phil & Grandma Carolynn with Joshua.
(Devon's mom and step father)
Joshua and Grandma T.
Joshua and Grandma T.
(Phil's mom and Joshua's great grand mother)
Joshua, Devon, David, & Brandi
Joshua, Devon, David, & Brandi
(Joshua & David's sister)
Brandi & Joshua
Gillian, Joshua, Molly (Devon's sister), Devon, David, & Brandi
Aram fixing Joshua's tie.
Grandma Pat with all her bar mitzvahed grandsons.
Grandma Pat with ALL her grandsons.
Grandma Pat with ALL her grandsons.
(Eden, Joshua, Grandma Pat, David, & Aram)
Add in the respective moms....
(Gillian, Eden, Joshua, Grandma Pat, David, Aram, & Aunt Janet)
Boy Scout delegates from Troop 1 in Logan.
(ASM Randy Martin, Joshua, Ryan Martin, & SM Tom Hogan.)
Joshua & Judi Amsel
Proud mother and bar mitzvahed son,
looking snazzy in our new prayer shawls.
(ASM Randy Martin, Joshua, Ryan Martin, & SM Tom Hogan.)
Joshua & Judi Amsel
(Bar Mitzvah Service Leader, Joshua's B'Nai Mitzvah Teacher,
& President of Congregation Brith Sholem.)
Proud mother and bar mitzvahed son,
looking snazzy in our new prayer shawls.
