TRA-DI-TION da da da da da daaa TRADITION!

Yes, you are supposed to be singing like Tevye here while I'm still enjoying the memory of the Bat Mitzvah I attended this weekend. Not the party, although it was pretty amazing, it is this service that I find very inspiring. This was my second Bat Mitzvah, and although I know this child, I believe a total stranger could be standing up there and I would still be moved.

This particular rabbi spoke the words that totally encapsulated the essence of this service. He said that the Bat Mitzvah service is not mystical or magical - nothing dramatically changes. Rather, it is a bridge from childhood to adulthood, in this case the transition to a Jewish woman. I love this description because it states the value of participating in a ceremony that describes a transition in life. It's good for teenish age kids to stand up before friends and family and participate in a validation of a passage of time, of age; an event they never really forget. Now, this girl may remember her magnificent party more than the service, but as in so many events, the more serious event often is recalled as they get older.

The year my younger son was graduating from cub scouts to boy scouts, one of the other leaders and I had this amazing idea (I'm sure it was spurred on by wine). We live near a lake that has a sailing club, and we thought how cool it would be to 'crossover' to Boy Scouts by sailing across this small lake to the other side, where the boy scout troop they would be joining would be waiting. We had a group of 13 who would be making this passage and we were able to con(vince) the master of the club to get a few folks to show up and glide these boys across the lake. What we hadn't planned on is siblings wanting to go (and their mothers promising they could), boys who were scared, boys who couldn't keep their hands out of the water and the ropes... you name it and it happened in those harrowing 20 minutes. On the other side was a wonderful Scout Master, Mr Franco, and ANY scout (or teenage boy) he could get to come out and wear something that looked remotely like a scout shirt. Mr.Franco had a little ceremony - he passed something out to the boys, and it was done. It was bedlam, the den moms were frazzled - and although we wanted to drown the boys at that point, it was a success. It was talked about, it was in the local paper, and I have actually heard from other mom's that it was remembered.

Tradition.