My favorite thing about being Jewish is being part of a community. Becoming a Bar Mitzvah is meaningful to me because it is like becoming a man. I have more responsibilities and my opinion counts more than when I was a child. In preparing for my Bar Mitzvah I learned that it takes a lot of commitment and bravery to be able to stand up and do a good job at leading the service.

My mitzvah project was collecting athletic equipment that I donated to Refugee Support Services. I chose this project because I am interested in sports and I knew that a lot of refugees often arrive in this country with very few possessions and probably without sports equipment. On the day that we made the donation, it felt really good to see the smiles on the faces of all of the kids and parents who received a ball. Thanks to donations of over $600 from friends and family, we gave away over 160 balls.

Now that I am an adult in the Jewish community, I plan to keep learning about Judaism by continuing with Religious School and Hebrew High and participating in events at the temple and JCC.

Max Wine is the son of Mark and Wendy Wine. He is the brother of Amanda and the grandson of Robert Wine of Shelby, NC and Allan and Linda Klepper of Barrington, RI. Send messages of Mazal Tov.