Anna's Bat Mitzvah Speech

August 2nd, 2014

I have to confess that when I stood here for the Torah Service, in front of you all, I was terrified. What if I had messed up? What if I spoke a word wrong? And - God forbid - what if I had dropped the Torah? Coincidentally - my Torah portion is about fear, believing in yourself, and the voice of God. In this portion, Moses is talking to the new generation of Israelites, preparing them to go into Canaan (Israel).  He says to them (speaking as God), "See, I place the land at your disposal. Go take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers." But the Israelites were too afraid because of the terrifying reports that the scouts have brought back. All but two were not permitted into Canaan. The rest had to wander the desert for 40 years. Only two of the Israelites, Joseph and Caleb, the two scouts who tried to encourage the rest to go into the land.

The message I took from this was believe in yourself. 

I’ve always thought that education helps you to believe in yourself. Without it, you never know what tomorrow might bring. What your life might be like. You are almost constantly scared that something bad will happen to you. Thus began my project. I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to spread the gift of education to those who do not have the advantages that I have.

The first part of my project was helping the son of a friend of our family, Jared, who has hydrocephalus, which means he is missing half his brain. He had no therapy toys at home, which meant he had nothing to do that would help him develop. That keeps him from finding his true self.  Having no money for toys keeps his mother from helping him, making her afraid. By hosting bake sales at the temple to buy him toys, we help both be more true to themselves. We helped them believe in themselves. 

 The second part of this was reading to the young children and collecting books to donate to Katherine Hanley Family Shelter, where my mom works. People suffering from homelessness are scared.  They are too afraid to listen to the voice of God or of anyone, instead they are focused on survival. By collecting educational books for children at the shelter and taking time twice a week for months to read to the younger children, we help the children feel safe and excited about learning, which will help them find their true selves, and we help the parents feel less afraid because we are taking care of their children while they look for housing or new jobs that will give the family stability. This helps entire families believe in themselves that much more.  

One of my biggest role models for the importance of education to all people is Malala Yousafzai. Malala defied the Taliban by standing up for female education rights. Because she defied the Taliban, they threatened her assassination, and actually attempted it. She was shot in the head while riding home on the bus from school, and she survived it. She made a miraculous recovery from a usually fatal bullet wound. At 16, she is the youngest person ever to receive a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, and she continues to stand up for what she believes in the right of all people (especially women) to receive an education.  

Like Malala, education helps me feel so much more true to myself. I really think that middle school is about who to listen to, and to find who you really are. This year, I discovered civics in a big way. Because I have always had an interest in civics, I joined this group called We The People, which is a civics competition group. I learned a lot about government and the Constitution. But most of all, I discovered just how much of a civics nerd I am. I also rediscovered writing in a big way. I was in Creative Writing in the first semester, and I absolutely loved it. A lot of people thought it was boring, and they didn’t like the teacher, but I loved everything about it. It helped me learn how much I loved writing. And unless I miss my guess, I’m pretty dang good at it. My school life and education really helped me to find who I was this year. Or maybe I haven’t completely found it, but I think I have a pretty good start.

So now I know the Torah says I need to be brave and listen to what is true in myself. I need to help people not be afraid, to be themselves, I need to take that leap of faith. And you know what? I have. I hope that by being called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah and being able to share what I have learned about bravery and education with you, that we can all take steps to be our true selves together and we can all listen to what God wants of us and what we want of ourselves. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to listen to God and I know that the future is going to be scary, but at the same time, pretty awesome. 

Before I finish, there are some people I have to thank. First of all, I want to thank my parents. I am so grateful for them every day. They were a huge help in preparing for this day, without them, I would have been consumed into a little puddle of anxiety. Second, I want to thank all the clergy for helping me take this huge leap in Judaism. Third, I want to thank my tutor, Ms. Heller, for being such an amazing tutor and helping me through all my tough times with the Hebrew. I couldn’t have done this without her. Fourth, I want to thank all of my friends and family for being here today. For my family, you put up with a lot, being related to me. I know I complained about this a lot and can be a huge pain, so you have no idea how much it means to me that you’re here. The same goes to my friends. Fifth, I want to thank the Nerdfighters for really opening my eyes for things that are wrong in the world, and how a small action can have a great effect. Lastly (but most definitely not least), I want to congratulate Jacob on becoming a bar mitzvah and for doing such a great job today.  

Thank you, and remember - don’t forget to be awesome!