Cantor's Corner

Bar and Bat Mitzvah Anniversaries Celebrated By Reading Torah
by Cantor Neil Newman

We at Beth El have prided ourselves on training a large number of Torah readers over the years. Our youth and adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah Programs along with the more intensive Yad Hazakkah are the primary contributers to the continual flow of excellent readers who ascend our bima every week and who sustain our full-sidra Torah reading.

Now these days, expect to see more of us on the pulpit. We have recently added a new element to our already strong program – “Bar/Bat Mitzvah Anniversary Torah Readings”. Although in the past, some of our regular Torah readers chose on their own to commemorate such occasions by reading from their anniversary portions in subsequent years, we ourselves have recently reached out to those who have become bar or bat mitzvah over the past several years as well as to our regular adult readers in order to register their specific parasha so we can actually call on them to celebrate their anniversaries by reading. In this way, we are not only renewing the fond memories of the life-cycle occasion; we are reinforcing and strengthening skills at the same time.

I want to thank Dr. Bonnie Bongard for all of her efforts and phone calls to this end. Without her able assistance and commitment to this project, we could not have accomplished our objective.

Now that we have somewhat of a complete list of those of you who have chosen to participate in this program along with the names of your respective parashiyot, Marilyn Sussman will be contacting you in advance to assign you a reading. However, if for any reason we have missed you inadvertently, please be in touch with Marilyn Sussman (952-920-3512, ext. 103) or with me, Cantor Newman (952-3512, ext 110) so we can include you on our list of participants.