My favorite thing about being Jewish is that the food is great and the holidays are amazing. Also I love being Jewish because I love the community I have. I think that it is very important to have your bar mitzvah because it makes you a man in the Jewish community and now you are thought of as a grown man in Judaism.

I have learned that prepping for my bar mitzvah is just like sports; you have to practice a lot and never give up. Also I have learned that I do better when I have an energetic tutor.

For my Mitzvah Project, I spent the night at On Deck, which is my baseball facility. I went there and we did a lot of activities with kids younger than us and it was a lot of fun. When I am done with my bar mitzvah I want to go further in Judaism by doing BBYO with Andrew.

Russell is the son of Brett and Nena Golembe and the brother of Nia and Natalie. Please send messages of mazel tov to Brett and Nena.