Becoming a Bar Mitzvah means that I have more responsibility and that I have the opportunity to do things that I couldn’t do before, like reading Torah. Preparing for my Bar Mitzvah, I have learned that it is a lot of hard work, but also very fun. I have also learned that in Jewish discussions there is usually no wrong answer. Now that I will be a Jewish adult I plan to come back and read Torah and become a madrich. Being Jewish means building community and being respectful. I like how, as a Jewish community, we do things together that can only be done as a Jewish group, like praying in a minyan, which is the group of ten Jewish people needed for some prayers. I also like how everyone respects everybody else, and supports them, like for mourners during Mourners Kaddish, when individuals stand to respect the people they’ve lost, and then the community stands to support the mourners.

My Mitzvah Project is preparing and providing meals at the Ronald McDonald house for families who are receiving medical care away from home. I chose to provide meals because I like to cook. I also chose this project because I wanted to help make a difficult experience a little easier for these families. My family has a close friend who had to go to another city for medical treatment. She was far away from home and away from her family. She was hosted by a Jewish family who helped her feel welcome while she recovered for many weeks. I like that by providing something as simple as cooking a meal I might make a difference and help someone else feel welcomed and supported. I fulfilled the mitzvah of welcoming the traveler through this Mitzvah Project.
Eli is the son of Caroline Biber and Chris Bishop, and the sibling of Naomi and Aron (ages 11 and 7). He is the grandson of Dan and Judy Biber, of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Judith Bishop of blessed memory.
Please send e-mails of Mazal tov to: cmbiber@gmail.com