A Bar and Bat Mitzvah Guide for Guests
A guide to the service from the parents of Bat Mitzvah Samara Martin
Shabbat Shalom - a peaceful Sabbath
We welcome you to Temple Shalom as we celebrate our daughter Samara becoming a Bat Mitzvah.
The Hebrew word mitzvah means commandment. A Bat Mitzvah is a Daughter of the Commandment, a person responsible for fulfilling the commandments of the Torah, the Five Books of Moses.
Becoming a Bat Mitzvah remains one of society's most civilized rites. To qualify, children must master an ancient alphabet and learn to read the Torah, a sacred scroll, and the Siddur, the holy prayer book. Samara
has studied the Hebrew language since the age of six. She has also studied Jewish culture, history, and ritual practices.
This Shabbat Service in which Samara celebrates becoming a Bat Mitzvah does not make her a Jewish adult.
To truly become a Daughter of the Commandment Samara must pursue this goal throughout her life. By calling a young person to the Torah, we recognize the beginning of maturity.
Samara is given new privileges and responsibilities. She will be allowed to read from the Torah and to be counted as one of ten people, a Minyan, required to hold Services. When Samara reads from
the Torah today she will be publicly affirming her Jewish values and ideals, and declaring her allegiance to the Jewish people and to our rich spiritual heritage.
The Torah is considered the foundation of Judaism. It contains the first five books of the Bible - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This sacred book contains principles of faith, the laws and the Ten Commandments, and the ancient history of our people.
The Torah has always been handwritten on parchment with a feather quill by a specially trained scribe and rolled into a scroll. This tradition stands unchanged today. Unlike the printed book no vowels or
punctuation marks are included in the Torah, nor are there any cantillation marks to guide the reader in the correct chant. Samara's preparation for her reading of today's passage and its cantillaton depends on the many months of training she has undergone.
Each week this scroll is unrolled to another portion so that during the course of each year the entire Torah will be read
aloud. Samara will read this week's portion from the book of Deuteronomy,
Nitzavim. The same portion is being read today in synagogues throughout the world.
The Torah is kept in a special place called The Ark, Aron Hakodesh. Our Ark contains several Torah Scrolls, each one elegantly covered and decorated to show love and respect. Each is "dressed like a queen." Above the Ark sits the Eternal Light, the Ner Tamid, present in all synagogues This Light burns continually, symbolizing the perpetual faith of the Jews.
When the Torah is taken from the Ark in a processional called hakafah, Samara will join in as the Rabbi and Cantor carry the scroll around the sanctuary. Each congregant may acknowledge its holiness by touching it with their prayer shawls, Tallit, or prayer books as it passes by.
The honor of being called to the Bimah to read or recite the blessings before and after the Torah reading, is called an Aliyah which means "ascent". Being called to the Torah is an honor as the reader ascends both physically and spiritually.
Following the Torah reading Samara will also chant from The Haftorah, the Prophets, (Isaiah, Chapter 61).
The Haftorah always has a connection to the Torah portion that is read. Public reading of the Torah dates back 2500 years to ancient days when Ezra the Scribe read aloud in the marketplace. The origin of the Haftorah dates back to the days of the Greek ruler, Antiochus, who forbade the public reading of the Torah. This prohibition forced Jews to read only from the
Prophets to replace the weekly readings of the Torah. When public reading of the Torah was once again permitted it was generally held that the haftorah reading should be retained. The blessings said before and following the Haftorah date back to the ninth century.
Following these readings Samara will deliver a D'var Torah, a brief interpretation of her Torah portion.
As you look around the sanctuary you will see people wearing small skull caps called a Kippa or, in Yiddish, a Yarmulka. For Jews it is a sign of respect for God to cover their heads in his presence.
Many people will also be wearing a Tallit, or prayer shawl which represents the commandments, and evokes the warmth of the tradition, and of family. For Samara, the Bat Mitzvah, this marks her first formal wearing of the tallit.
One of the concluding prayers to the Service is the Kaddish. No prayer in Jewish liturgy arouses greater emotion. Kaddish is a great expression of faith and hope which serves as the culmination of
our reverence for God. The Mourner's Kaddish is used to reaffirm faith in God in memory of deceased loved ones.
The conclusion of Shabbat morning worship is Kiddush, the blessings over wine and the Sabbath bread.
Thank you for sharing this very special occasion in our lives.
Temple Shalom 
