Mazal Tov to Meredith, really.

Not sure how many Jews we have in the group who have had a bar/bat mitzvah, but I was the tutor for our synagogue and led a lot of them as a lay leader.

Reading from the Torah is HARD! It's not just regular Hebrew. It's hand-scribed Hebrew in a weird font with no vowels and it's own unique tune, also unmarked. It takes months of learning and preparation to be able to do it, and to do it in front of everyone when you get one chance to get it right is nerve-wracking. I've been changing from the Torah for many years and I still get nerves.

When kids do it at 13, they've been preparing for years by going to their synagogue school at least once a week. When an adult does it, it's more of a crash course. (I once tutored a 73-year-old woman who decided to do hers. We worked together for a year. She nailed it, btw!)

Meredith's not always been my favorite of the wives, but she deserves all the Mazal Tovs in the world for taking this on! 🕍✡️

(Also, if you're ever invited to a bar or bat mitzvah in a synagogue, dress a bit modestly. For women, no bare shoulders is customary.)