My favorite part about being Jewish is celebrating Jewish holidays with my family. It’s fun to be surrounded by family. Chanukah is my favorite because you get gifts and the food is great. To me, becoming a bar mitzvah means becoming a man: to be grown up, to be mature, to keep trying even when it seems really hard, and to help family out when they need it.

For my Mitzvah Project, I helped the elderly at Walden Wood – I spent time with them, cheering them up and helping them be happy. We visited their homes and helped keep them company. We danced and went to concerts together. Spending time with them made me feel good. It was nice to help them feel better.

Joey Padow is the son of Amy and Richard Padow. He is the grandson of Grandma Ricki, Papa Jan, and Grandma Sandy. Notes of mazel tov can be sent to padowrs@aol.com.