My favorite thing about being Jewish is that there are not a lot of Jewish people so we are a very close community.  Becoming a Bar Mitzvah is important because it means I have become a Jewish adult and have to follow all of the Jewish laws and commandments.  Preparing for such a big event is a lot of hard work.  This process helped me improve my time management skills and work more efficiently.

For my mitzvah project, I volunteered at Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts as an apprentice.  I chose this project because I like theater and working with children, so the apprenticeship was a win-win. I learned how to lead a group through a day of rehearsal and I also learned what it is like to be at the bottom, doing jobs no one else likes to, like taking out the trash.

Now that I am a Bar Mitzvah, I plan to continue my Jewish education by attending Hebrew High.

Jacob Schwartz is the son of Marsi and Jeff Schwartz and brother of Zachary and Joshua.  He is the grandson of Kenneth and Gail Goldberg of Charlotte, NC and Elliott and Marjory Schwartz of Indian Trail, NC.  Send notes of mazal tov.