That quote was from Myra Rubenstein, mother of Ariel David, whose bas mitzvah (yes, as an Ashkenazi I pronounce the Hebrew letter "tof/sof" traditionally as an "s" rather than a "t" sound) Robin and I were privileged to be invited to attend yesterday. (It came during one of the reception dances where the DJs were urging folks to switch partners, and was accompanied by a high-five.) It was indicative not only of families weathering everything that's come before in our lives and coming through okay enough to actually celebrate together now, but of being pleased all around with new beginnings (Myra and her husband are moving to Arizona soon, for instance).
I remember Ariel's father Peter announcing her birth in one of his But I Digress columns, and I've watched through the years as she's turned into a lively and poised young lady with a terrific sense of humor (if you're Peter's kid you pretty much have to have one!), holding her own against two older sisters with strong and vibrant personalities of their own, and now a younger sister who tends to be a bit of a spotlight-stealer as well. As I watched her yesterday I couldn't help but think back to my own bas mitzvah which was technically a "group confirmation" since we belonged to an Orthodox temple which frowned on marking this milestone publicly (and the celebration thereafter was muted because my paternal grandmother had died not long before and so there couldn't be any music). I don't think I'll ever get used to a Reformed service totally (all that English! and the siddurim paginated left to right!) but there are aspects of it that I wish I'd experienced when I was Ariel's age. I would've loved to have been up there on the altar by myself, actually touching the Torah, with my parents' hands at my back and the rabbi giving me his blessing, with kids throwing candy at me and singing Mazel Tov at the end of it (although I talked to Mom today and she believes they did do that last bit at our confirmation)...
I think I lost it about three or four times, especially when all of Ariel's grandparents were all up at the altar with her. I only had one grandparent alive at my pseudo-bas-mitzvah, my maternal grandmother who had already been felled by several strokes. And one of her grandfathers has the Hebrew name of Menachem Mendel, the same as my Uncle Max. And she's a bas-Levi, just like me! And just overall, Ariel has such a wonderful and confident body image, she looked so beautiful and she knew it, not like me at that age...
But I digress. This day was about Ariel, not my reactions to her celebration. And so I present some pictures, most of which are not of Ariel (we e-mailed all of those to Kath) but of Robin posing with various celebrants, 'cause those are the ones that came out best:
Rob with Steve Saffel; it's always lovely seeing Steve and Dana.
Rob and Glenn Hauman talking shop; it was great meeting Glenn and his immensely vivacious wife Brandy for the first time! And no, I'm afraid I still can't believe either the "Hands Up" thing or the "Chicken Dance" thing were real songs, despite mounds of proof to the contrary...
The two amigos Rob and Bob Greenberger (three counting Bob's Superman tie)... um, don't ask... Sorry I didn't get to talk more with Bob and Deb and family, but, er, Bob's wit and intelligence intimidate me. :)
Peter "conducting" Bohemian Rhapsody. This is one of the shots I wish had come out better; I was having problems taking pictures properly from a seated position... [Update: Thanks for cleaning it up a bit, Kathy!]
There ya go, one of the bas mitzvah girl herself in the middle there, with stepmom Kath in the background and baby sister Caroline in the fore...
It had taken us almost two hours to get to eastern Long Island via the directions given on the invite and double-checked on MapBlast, mostly because I'd decided to experiment with the Mosholu Parkway (big mistake; it's actually Traffic Light Parkway on Which Dangerous Drivers with Boom Cars Play Chicken) and the Long Island Expressway was riddled with construction and we took a couple wrong turns besides. So I was nervous about the drive home and we left a bit early, about 7:30, but someone - I think it was Glenn - had suggested we avoid the LIE entirely by taking the Southern State Parkway back to the Cross Island (then over the Throgs Neck Bridge to the Cross Bronx Expressway to the Deegan), and we were home in just over an hour! Good to know for the next time we visit the David family, and I'd highly recommend the Southern to anyone travelling in that section of Lawn Guylan...
You can find other write-ups of the bas mitzvah from Peter, Kath and Bob... thanks again for inviting us, Peter and Kath!! We had, as if you couldn't tell by now, a wonderful time.
I remember Ariel's father Peter announcing her birth in one of his But I Digress columns, and I've watched through the years as she's turned into a lively and poised young lady with a terrific sense of humor (if you're Peter's kid you pretty much have to have one!), holding her own against two older sisters with strong and vibrant personalities of their own, and now a younger sister who tends to be a bit of a spotlight-stealer as well. As I watched her yesterday I couldn't help but think back to my own bas mitzvah which was technically a "group confirmation" since we belonged to an Orthodox temple which frowned on marking this milestone publicly (and the celebration thereafter was muted because my paternal grandmother had died not long before and so there couldn't be any music). I don't think I'll ever get used to a Reformed service totally (all that English! and the siddurim paginated left to right!) but there are aspects of it that I wish I'd experienced when I was Ariel's age. I would've loved to have been up there on the altar by myself, actually touching the Torah, with my parents' hands at my back and the rabbi giving me his blessing, with kids throwing candy at me and singing Mazel Tov at the end of it (although I talked to Mom today and she believes they did do that last bit at our confirmation)...
I think I lost it about three or four times, especially when all of Ariel's grandparents were all up at the altar with her. I only had one grandparent alive at my pseudo-bas-mitzvah, my maternal grandmother who had already been felled by several strokes. And one of her grandfathers has the Hebrew name of Menachem Mendel, the same as my Uncle Max. And she's a bas-Levi, just like me! And just overall, Ariel has such a wonderful and confident body image, she looked so beautiful and she knew it, not like me at that age...
But I digress. This day was about Ariel, not my reactions to her celebration. And so I present some pictures, most of which are not of Ariel (we e-mailed all of those to Kath) but of Robin posing with various celebrants, 'cause those are the ones that came out best:
Rob with Steve Saffel; it's always lovely seeing Steve and Dana.
Rob and Glenn Hauman talking shop; it was great meeting Glenn and his immensely vivacious wife Brandy for the first time! And no, I'm afraid I still can't believe either the "Hands Up" thing or the "Chicken Dance" thing were real songs, despite mounds of proof to the contrary...
The two amigos Rob and Bob Greenberger (three counting Bob's Superman tie)... um, don't ask... Sorry I didn't get to talk more with Bob and Deb and family, but, er, Bob's wit and intelligence intimidate me. :)
Peter "conducting" Bohemian Rhapsody. This is one of the shots I wish had come out better; I was having problems taking pictures properly from a seated position... [Update: Thanks for cleaning it up a bit, Kathy!]
There ya go, one of the bas mitzvah girl herself in the middle there, with stepmom Kath in the background and baby sister Caroline in the fore...
It had taken us almost two hours to get to eastern Long Island via the directions given on the invite and double-checked on MapBlast, mostly because I'd decided to experiment with the Mosholu Parkway (big mistake; it's actually Traffic Light Parkway on Which Dangerous Drivers with Boom Cars Play Chicken) and the Long Island Expressway was riddled with construction and we took a couple wrong turns besides. So I was nervous about the drive home and we left a bit early, about 7:30, but someone - I think it was Glenn - had suggested we avoid the LIE entirely by taking the Southern State Parkway back to the Cross Island (then over the Throgs Neck Bridge to the Cross Bronx Expressway to the Deegan), and we were home in just over an hour! Good to know for the next time we visit the David family, and I'd highly recommend the Southern to anyone travelling in that section of Lawn Guylan...
You can find other write-ups of the bas mitzvah from Peter, Kath and Bob... thanks again for inviting us, Peter and Kath!! We had, as if you couldn't tell by now, a wonderful time.
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