Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs (Part 2)

Before I went to my first bat mitzvah, I didn't know what to expect. Neither did my parents. To get prepared, my parents and I watched a movie called Sixty Six. 

Sixty Six is about a twelve year old Jewish kid named Bernie who has been planning his bar mitzvah for a long time now. He lives in England. Unfortunately for him, his dad loses his job so he has to have a smaller party, eventually only having the party at his house. To make it worse, his bar mitzvah takes place on the same day as the World Cup, and the year 1966 is the first time that England makes it to the World Cup Finals so nobody wants to attend his bar mitzvah. They were all glued to the TV. The story shows how Bernie deals with the disaster, from doing black magic on the English soccer players, to discussing the problems with his blind rabbi. It's a really great comedy that I suggest everyone should see, even if you aren't Jewish. If you don't recognize the actor, his name is Gregg Sulkin, and he is now in many Disney Channel movies and TV shows. 

Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs (Part 1)

challah bread

Recently, I have been invited to many bat mitzvahs (for girls) and bar mitzvahs (for boys). I've probably been invited to at least ten now, from kids from my school. A few of them I don't even know. Although I have been invited to ten bat mitzvahs and bar mitzvahs, I've only gone to one bat mitzvah so far. I have yet to see what happens at a bar mitzvah. None of the people in my family have ever gone to a bat mitzvah or a bar mitzvah before in their life. So you might imagine, it was quite the experience. The service is about two hours, with prayers and songs. They praise anything you can imagine; food (challah bread, wine), candles, etc.

It was quite entertaining to see my friend up there singing and holding a candle that was on fire, slowly melting and getting more and more warped. I was very happy to experience the Jewish tradition for the first time, although to sing and praise for two hours got a bit tiring after a while. To the point where the grown man in the pew in front of me took off his shoes and started laughing silently to himself.

The party is a completely different experience. They go all out, with DJs, music, colorful laser lights, entertainers, chocolate fountains, candy bars, dance floors, fog makers, and photo booths. They had a challah bread as long as a full sized bed that was on the table. It's a pity that we didn't get to eat it.

My family and I thought it was a bit extravagant to spend so much time, effort and money on this party.  But then again, it is the big 13.  Although, coming from a  Chinese family, we just get a red envelope with some cash in it.

We quickly stopped thinking that the bat mitzvahs were that ridiculous when we found out how much the kids make. My friend got at least $5,000. Although, she  has to donate some of it to different charities, that's still a lot of mullah. My cousin and I even considered converting for a little while dreaming that we'd make that much money. I must say, the party was very fun though, although I don't like dancing for five hours. I think I'll have to get used to more parties, going to a school that is 75% Jewish.