Becoming a Bat Mitzvah was an important rite of passage to me because it marks my growing up. I also liked the challenge. It felt like a mountain I was trying to climb and conquer.  I knew that I’d feel accomplished afterwards.  I also wanted to enrich my knowledge of Judaism. I have learned how to read Hebrew and this was a good way to apply that knowledge that I had gained over the years. My Torah portion helped me learn about new Jewish ideas and how to read Hebrew better.  When I make it through this ceremony and lead the service and read Torah successfully, I will feel that I have accomplished my goals.   I feel like I have been able to connect what I have learned in Sheva with what I have learned in school and in the rest of the world, such as lessons about discrimination against those who are different. For example, we learned about all the times in history when we, as Jews, were thrown out of the countries where we lived and were treated differently because we were Jewish. I made a connection to my own life as I thought about times when I was treated differently at school because I was Jewish. As a Jewish adult, I hope to celebrate Jewish holidays, eat Jewish foods, come to services, and I want to become a madricha (a teaching assistant) in the Religious School.  As I stay involved with the Jewish community, I will be able to keep learning and I will pass that knowledge on to people around me whether intentionally or just in passing.  Being Jewish means that I am different. I am proud of being unique and I feel like part of our duty as Jews is to teach other people about our beliefs and why we believe them.

For my mitzvah project I chose to help the Elderly. One of my great-grandmother’s best friends, Marsha Smith, has grown older and I figured that she would enjoy having someone younger around. I have gone to her house, and probably still will, to talk to her and learn about my family. She enjoys talking to me and I enjoy listening to all the cool stories about the world and my family before I was born.

Emma is the daughter of Franny and Stephen. She is the sister of Ellis.  She is granddaughter of Patty Small, Gus Small and Homayoun Goshtasbpour.

Words of Mazel Tov can be sent to sasmall@yahoo.com.