Becoming a Man: My Bar Mitzvah Speech, 30 Years Later
Esteemed rabbis, my dear parents, family, and friends: Shabbat shalom. Thank you for coming to celebrate with me on this day on which I become a man. My bar mitzvah Torah portion, Acharei Mot, is about laws and limitations. Laws, I understand, are necessary, because without them, things go wrong, and people can get hurt. The portion begins with the reminder of what happened to the two sons of Aaron the high priest, and how they died by a “strange fire” because they did not observe the law, and were not careful enough when they entered the holy Tent of Meeting. There are many different kinds of laws in this portion. These laws, I was taught, were given to us by God so that each of us can live a holy life, as part of a bigger, healthy society.
