Just spent a lovely weekend with Olivia Donn on the occasion of her Bas Mitzvah. So nice to see her surrounded by all her family Boruch Hashem and long may it continue. One of the legacies established by past generations in Sheffield is our system of Bas Mitzvah celebrations. I have seen other synagogues where the young lady is tagged on to the end of an already long Shabbos morning service and I don’t think it works as well as our separate Sunday afternoon celebration. I have been told it is in order to give her equal status with the boys for whom their Bar Mitzvahs are also done on Shabbos. If so it does not compare with having an individual service which is centred specifically on the Bas Mitzvah girl herself, and it must surely be limited to that which one can do on a Shabbos.
Interestingly Faige Roc
hel is a member of a site for Chabad Rebbetzens in communities all over the world and in one of her postings she described our service and amongst other things mentioned the Bas Mitzvah prayer. She began to get emails from all over wanting to know what this prayer was and could they have a copy. So our Sheffield Bas Mitzvah prayer has been emailed all over the USA!
Olivia presented her pieces magnificently and her family and the Sheffield community especially her teachers in cheder and those who contributed to the Bat Mitzvah course should all be proud of her achievements. We may be a small community but we manage to produce the goods and watching Olivia at the pulpit in shul I thought to myself she co
uld easily go down in any of the United Synagogues of the bright and beautiful London.
Mazel Tov to Olivia, mum and dad Shelley and Ivor (Ha’junior cohen), grandparents Sue and Mark and Sandra and Maurice (Ha’senior cohen)
Interestingly Faige Roc
hel is a member of a site for Chabad Rebbetzens in communities all over the world and in one of her postings she described our service and amongst other things mentioned the Bas Mitzvah prayer. She began to get emails from all over wanting to know what this prayer was and could they have a copy. So our Sheffield Bas Mitzvah prayer has been emailed all over the USA!Olivia presented her pieces magnificently and her family and the Sheffield community especially her teachers in cheder and those who contributed to the Bat Mitzvah course should all be proud of her achievements. We may be a small community but we manage to produce the goods and watching Olivia at the pulpit in shul I thought to myself she co
uld easily go down in any of the United Synagogues of the bright and beautiful London.Mazel Tov to Olivia, mum and dad Shelley and Ivor (Ha’junior cohen), grandparents Sue and Mark and Sandra and Maurice (Ha’senior cohen)
Huge Mazel Tov to all the Donn family and of course the Rayner family as well. I struggle to believe that Olivia is of Bas Mitzvah age, I really cannot be that old!!!!
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