30 Years of Maximum R&B

This is a big week: we observed the festival of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of Torah at Mt. Sinai; one of my favorite all-time personal muses, Pete Townshend, turned 65 (!); and this coming Shabbat will be the 30^th anniversary of my becoming a Bar Mitzvah. It’s been three decades since I was called to the Torah on Shabbat Naso – to read the portion which includes the famous “Priestly Benediction” – the three-part offering by the priests through which God bestowed divine blessing upon the people:

May Adonai bless you and protect you!

May Adonai shine divine kindness and grace upon you!
May Adonai be present with you, and grant you peace!

(I happen to be a sucker for the following line: “Thus they shall place My name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”)

Anyone familiar with Jewish practice knows that we use this divine charge as a blessing throughout the life-cycle: at b’rit milah and baby naming, Consecration of new students, b’nei mitzvah, weddings, anniversaries…all the significant moments of celebration are highlighted with these words. I have been privileged now for 15 years in the congregational rabbinate to recite these lines innumerable times – and each time I recite these lines, I introduce them by reminding those present that it is my honor to do so on behalf of our sacred tradition and the gathered assembly (it is still God who bestows blessings – no matter how hip, savvy, or well-dressed a modern clergy person might beJ).

Looking back thirty years – I do recall studying this portion and its significance with my mentor (thank you Rabbi Henry A. Zoob, my beloved teacher and rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth David in Westwood, MA). Yet I had no idea then that this simple set of three phrases would become such a valuable instrument in my professional tool kit. What is it that I do remember from that milestone? Well of course the gathering of family and friends remains foremost in my mind. I think of our dear friends from NY arriving late for the celebration, when we didn’t think they’d be able to attend at all (Sarah D., I think I still deserve a piece of chocolate cake). And most specially, I recall on that Wednesday, my mother asking me for $2. When I asked “what for”, she said “never mind, just pay attention.” I learned on Friday evening that my modest contribution had enabled me to sponsor the flowers decorating the sanctuary in honor of my grandmother. Grandma and I were both delighted to hear it announced.

And perhaps what’s the most significant piece of learning that sticks with me? I appreciate the milestone of Bar Mitzvah for what is was (and is) supposed to be: not some sort of hocus-pocus-coming-of-age-ceremony for a kid who didn’t even know what that saying means. Truly, I know that gathering together on May 24, 1980 (corresponding to the Hebrew date 9 Sivan 5740) was but one of MANY such intentional, happy, sacred occasions on which the power of Judaism to shape and enhance my life has been clearly evident.

I’ve certainly grown and changed and hopefully improved since that time. And it will only be about another year-and-a-half before a Bar Mitzvah picture of my son gets placed beside the one of my dad. Thankfully it’s still amazing to look in the mirror and see the same kid looking back, refusing to get old.