Ceremony, Celebration And Chivalry

It is that sense of tradition that struck me the most about R's Bar Mitzvah. As I mentioned, a Bar Mitzvah is a voluntary thing. Here is a young man who chose all that rigorous effort to honor the tradition that many people - in particular his late grandparents - held so dear. In R's own words, "It's the right thing to do." R was privileged to have three proud great-grandparents, two grandparents and many near and dear family members and friends bear witness to his Bar Mitzvah. And we who were in attendance were privileged to witness the boy pass through the door into manhood.

The most touching part of the ceremony was the fact that R chose to wear not one, not two but three tallits, or prayer shawls during the course of the ceremony. One was his grandfather's, one his great-great grandfather's and one his own, a gift from his grandmother. This physical representation of his respect for his ancestors made it clear to me that R was very sincere in his appreciation for the sacred tradition of the Bar Mitzvah.

Sadly, in this world I see a lot of hatred, cruelty and disrespect in people of all ages. Considering teenagers live in their own (age-appropriate) egocentric world, my expectations for their behavior are generally not very high. R has transcended my dim view of teens, impressing me deeply with this very mature act. It took a lot of goodness in his heart at a very young age to decide to promise to live an honorable life in front of virtually everyone he knows!

Sometimes I wonder if civility and altruism are dead. Sometimes I think that regard for tradition is dead. R has redeemed my faith for the future of human behavior.

It's true, he's a fine young man. I'm proud to share this earth with him, and prouder yet to know him.