Yes, the Bar Mitzvah is an important rite of passage in which Gabe, as a 13-year-old boy, assumes the responsibilities of an adult according to Jewish law and tradition.
The Bar Mitzvah is also an important rite of passage in which I, the mother of a 13-year-old, take a break from shopping and shlepping, advising and admonishing, to take stock of my son.
Why is this night different from all other nights?
This night is different because I, a person who equates working in the kitchen with working on a chain gang, cook most of the multicourse Passover meal. Singlehandedly and from scratch, I might add.
According to myth, Jews don\’t drink. This is false.
According to the \”Big Book\” of Alcoholics Anonymous, alcohol is cunning, baffling and powerful. This is true. Otherwise, why would my father choose to move in 1991 to Portland, Oregon, to live alone with his Dalmatian and begin drinking after 18 years of sobriety?
Zack has always been fiercely independent, making separation anxiety a nonissue as he smoothly transitioned from daycare to preschool to day school, from overnights with friends to overnight camp — and now — to overseas.
\”You shall live in booths seven days in order that future generations may know I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt\” (Leviticus 23:42-43).
Despite our modern obsession with nutrition and health, vegetarianism isn\’t anything new. It\’s been around, well, since Adam and Eve.
Every child dreams of a world with unlimited freedom. A world with no math homework and no broccoli, a world with unrestricted television viewing, candy bar consumption and curfews.
\”Hit him back!\” my husband Larry and I occasionally advise our sons. \”Really? Can I?\” each answer, incredulously.
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