My favorite part of being Jewish is celebrating Shabbat. At URJ 6 Points Sports Camp, we got to celebrate Shabbat with lots of music – it was more about having fun and enjoying our time together and didn’t feel as formal as Shabbat sometimes feels.
For me, becoming a Bar Mitzvah means that physically and mentally I am becoming a Jewish man. It’s an honor to stand up on the bima and become a Jewish citizen – it’s a big deal, and I want to take it seriously. Throughout my preparation for this day, I have learned that in order to achieve something you can’t slack off. You have to put work into it in order to achieve your goal.

For my mitzvah project, I chose to work with Lil’ Hoopers, a program at the JCC that teaches little kids to play basketball. I like kids, and it is important to be an example for them because they look up to me.

Now that I am a Bar Mitzvah, I plan to continue to go to temple on High Holidays and to hopefully become a counselor at 6 Points.

Zac is the son of Jennifer Weintraub and Mark Weintraub. He is the brother of Jonah. He is the grandson of Trish and Art Hurvitz and Rena and Ron Weintraub. Notes of mazel tov can be sent to zack.weintraub@providenceday.org.