My favorite thing about being Jewish is being different than everyone else. Throughout history, we have been enslaved and tormented for being Jewish and it is awesome to be able to practice my religion in peace. I am always happy to educate others about my religion and I have never been ashamed of being Jewish. To me, becoming a Bar Mitzvah means that I have passed the first stage of being a good Jew. Based on our Jewish traditions, we should assist our neighbors and always be happy to give a lending hand. I hope that the community service work that I did will help inspire me to do good in my community. During my preparation for becoming a Bar Mitzvah, I learned that I need to truly dedicate myself to tasks in order to not only accomplish them, but thrive.

For my mitzvah project, I was able to use my Spanish abilities to tutor a young boy that had difficulty reading. After spending time with him, his performance in the classroom drastically improved and I have developed a friendship with him and his wonderful family. I plan on continuing to tutor him and to serve as a mentor to him as he grows up. I learned that this mitzvah project was not just supposed to be just community service for 13 hours. It was supposed to teach us how to better our community and that is what I took away from it.

Jake is the son of Jason and Yami Siesel. He is the brother of Isabella Siesel. He is the grandson of Ernest and Pierrette Siesel of Boca Raton FL, Miriam Haber of Hialeah FL, and Pedro and Esther Haber of Miami, FL. Send notes of mazel tov.