SPEECH Bat Mitzvah

Brief - to create a personal speech for a girl to deliver in front of 250 family and friends

It’s fair to say that standing in front of everyone here tonight feels a little bit crazy and I can’t quite believe it is my turn to become Bat Mitzvah.

Before I begin, I want to say a massive thank you for the love and support of my amazing family and  friends. Without all of you, I wouldn’t be taking this next leap in my Jewish journey. And it is here with you all today that I fulfil my Bat Mitzvah duties. 

To the wider world, this means that I will strengthen my loyalty to Judaism. But what does this look like for me? 

It is my intent to make an even deeper connection with our traditions and to celebrate more of what it means to be part of a Jewish family, a Jewish school and a Jewish community. 

I also plan to continue and grow in my charity work and in my good deeds. I am humbled that so many women who have made this Bat Mitzvah passage before me, many in much darker times than now, have kept the heritage of its goodness, so that I can also take this step. 

As a true Bat Mitzvah, as a person of responsibility, I take my place today as a woman in the community of the Children of Israel. 

This shabbat, Jews around the world read parasha Bechukotai. 

It blows my mind that, wherever we live in the world and whatever our level of observance, as Jewish people we all study the same text on the same weekend. 

Yesterday, as we reached the final passages of Leviticus we learnt important lessons about how G-d expects us to live our lives. 

Bechukotai teaches us about  the rewards which G-d promises us if we follow his laws. It also lists, very explicitly, the bad things that will happen if we don’t do as we are told. Rules and consequences. 

It’s as if this parasha was hand picked for me because, with just a couple of months until I become a teenager, rules and consequences are words I hear a lot… 

But for me, it is what G-d promises us towards the end of the parasha which stands out the most. In the Torah, we read: 

“Yet in spite of these bad deeds … I will not cast them away. 

I will not break My covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God.”

Here G-d is promising that he will never abandon us. Even if we take a wrong turn, even if we slip up, he will always allow us to make things right again. 

Teshuva - the act of repentance and the theme many of you will know from Yom Kippur - means we can always make amends, say sorry, and have the chance to not make the same mistake twice. 

From this I understand that G-d is promising us there will always be hope for a brighter future. So rather than focus tonight on rules and consequences, instead let’s talk about hope. 

Hope can be universal. 

Central to Judaism and mentioned in Bechukotai is the theme of ‘tikkun olam’. This is the way in which we help to repair the world. Commentary on my parasha tells us that in Judaism, it is what we do in the world that matters, not what we think.  

At my first schools I was lucky to learn and take positive  action towards  the planet. 

I experienced ‘Forest School’ - hands-on lessons to value and respect nature. More than just learning to safely climb trees, we understood how the way we act in our surroundings impacts the state of the world we leave for future generations. 

We can also do ‘tikkun olam’ through our good deeds. In 2021 I decided to design and craft beaded bracelets to raise both awareness and money for the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital’s burns unit. Selling the jewellery that I had designed to many of my neighbours and friends funded hundreds of pounds for a ward that is very close to my heart. 

I then hosted a ‘bead camp’ at home so I could encourage others to make their own bracelets and sold them at my school’s summer festival, too.I really enjoyed being creative and knowing I was doing good at the same time. 

Hope can also be national. 

In preparation for today, I was honoured to take part in a four month programme which taught me so much about my community. Through this programme I saw for myself how Jewish people in need of support are given the gift of hope to know they need never be alone. Part of my learning was to visit the incredible Holocaust Survivor Centre. 

It is the only place of its kind anywhere in the UK where more than 250 survivors and refugees can together share their culture and are also offered therapy. Learning about the centre, the remarkable people there and hearing their stories has really helped me better understand what it was like for them to be Jewish during World War II and beyond.  

Through the programme I also met a sports coach whose words of wisdom really stayed with me. He told me that in life there will always be people who are better than me at certain things, but that’s ok because it should encourage me to always try harder and always do better. This was so inspirational and I often think of him when I take on a new challenge. 

I really treasure the fact that I was able to take part in these activities with my cousin by my side. He is just six weeks older than me and will celebrate his own Bar Mitzvah in just three weeks’ time. As the next generation, together we will always share these experiences and Bechukotai teaches us both the duty to keep good deeds like these alive. Thank you to his mum, my Aunty, for showing us all the magic she and her team make happen at the centre.  You are so special to me and play an enormous part of my life. 

It was a big decision for me to move to a new school last September and it has only strengthened my connection to my people. My ties with the nation of Israel where my Dad was born and also now through my new school life have never felt stronger.  During the study of my parasha  one of the things I learnt was how lucky we are that in Bechukotai G-d laid things out pretty clearly for us: the things he wanted us to do and the goodness he promised us and the warnings of the bad things that would come our way if we didn’t pay attention. But most importantly of all, we are lucky that G-d showed his kindness; he made a commitment that even if we don’t manage to stay on the right path he will be our safety net. 

For me, this made me think about how my family is my safety net.

And hope can be personal...

While it’s fair to say that most Bat Mitzvah girls will tell you how amazing their family is... I really believe I am one of the luckiest:

My Dad is an amazing dad and the most hard working man I know. His childhood was almost the exact opposite of mine but seeing for myself what his life looked like when he was my age is one of my most favourite ways to spend time with him. On our regular trips to the States, visiting his high school, the places he used to hang out and eating ice cream together makes me appreciate him so much. And of course I adore spending time with my grandparents and all my incredible cousins there too. 

My mum is an incredible mum and amazing role model . She always encourages me to be the best I can be, makes me laugh every day, and has gladly taken up the role as Chief Sephora wing woman. I’m so proud of her for what she is doing to pave the way for a more equal workplace for me and my generation. It’s amazing how she balances everything she does for me, our family and for others.

Mum and Dad thank you for everything you do for me. I love you very much. 

I am so grateful that I was able to meet my wonderful grandpa and that I got to share my first two years with him. I wish we could have had longer together, but I am so grateful that the time I did have was very special and how much he loved me. I’m over the moon my Grandma is here with us tonight to see me step us as the next generation of young women in our family. 

Probably the greatest gift my parents have given me, apart  from this party tonight, is my brother. It’s fair to say Jack has played the role of younger brother very well: I made sure he FULLY embraced the world of Barbies when we were younger and these days he even lets me do his skincare. I’m so lucky that we get on so well and always love our time together with our Friday night traditions at home, our holidays abroad and him always starring in my Tik Toks. Even though we don’t see each other quite as much as we did now we are at different schools, the fact that I miss him sometimes shows you really must be a pretty good brother! 

As a final preparation for today’s milestone it seemed only right that my family and I took on some learning together. We settled down on the sofa with some popcorn to watch “You’re so not invited to my Bat Mitzvah”. There is one quote in the film where the main character, the Bat Mitzvah girl Stacey Friedman, starts to regret some of her friendship behaviour. She says “maybe if I start doing good things, good things will start happening to me.” 

It’s like we studied the same parasha!! And whilst I don’t do good things only to be rewarded, I do recognise that becoming Bat Mitzvah is a time of maturity to become more responsible for myself and my actions. 

I want to thank you all so much for being here with me today. I hope I have sprinkled some hope to start our evening and I can’t wait to celebrate with you all now to make this a really memorable night for us all!