Mazal Tov Yitzy! You did such a spectacular job leining this morning. You have shared a beautiful Dvar Torah! Mazal Tov to my dear friends, Rabbi Yaakov and Yonit Kirschbaum. We are honored to be sharing this special day with you. A special welcome and Mazal Tov as well to the grandparents, the Penzohs and the Kirschbaums. It is truly a special day for our community. Yitzy, sometimes at a Bar Mitzvah the young man feels pressured.. You were tremendous. But its well known, that a Bar or Bas Mitzvah can be a pressurized situation. Why? Because you have a lot of things to do, a lot of things to learn- and everyone is looking at you. All eyes are upon you. Now Yitzy Don’t worry. You didn’t look that way at all. You were composed and cool. But its true today is your special day. And all of our eyes were on you. Why? Well because today is a big day. Today is the day that you become a card carrying, full fledged adult member of the eternal Jewish People. So yeah. Its a big deal. But I want to share an idea this morning with you that will highlight to what degree all eyes are upon you. You see its not only the people that are here in Shul this morning. Allow me to explain what I mean. Sivan Rahav Meir recently shared the following story: Earlier, Yaron Or, father of Avinatan Or, currently held hostage in Gaza, had shared his thoughts in a media interview, saying, “These days, my mind often turns to my son and to Sharansky, from whom I draw considerable strength.” Moved by those words, Sharansky reached out to Yaron, offering words of solidarity and resilience: “When I was in prison, I derived strength from many sources, first and foremost, my wife Avital. I felt her presence even though we never met during that period. The Jewish nation was also a source of great strength; knowing that people were praying for me helped me hold on. “I always kept with me a copy of Psalms, written by King David, and that, too, gave me strength. I felt as if King David’s words were directed specifically to me and my distress. “After enduring many years in confinement, the realization dawned on me that it wasn’t just King David who empowered me; I was empowering him! The previous generations were observing my struggle and I was upholding their legacy. I couldn’t let them down. I was connected to our glorious past and to the promise of our even more glorious future; I was part of our magnificent story! This held true as a prisoner of Zion in Russia and it resonates just as strongly regarding the hostages currently held captive in tunnels in Gaza. We are all small yet significant parts of a grand and enduring story.” Yitzy, this is such an important concept. So often in life, we think we look to our Jewish heroes, our tzaddikim, our history, and our Torah for strength. But the reality is that it is reciprocal. No doubt we gain tremendous strength from them. But through our actions, we in fact are empowering all of Jewish history. This isn’t only true for people in horrible circumstances who heroically maintain their Emunah. People like Natan Sharansky and Please G-d give him the strength, people like Avinatan Or and all of our other hostages. But each and every person. In their own way is giving strength to all of Jewish history. And on some level, this is what we are celebrating today. Yitzy- your Bar Mitzvah today, is giving all of us strength! Your embracing of your role in the Jewish People gives strength to the entire Jewish People. You see it’s not just the eyes of the people in this room who are upon you! But the eyes of the entire Jewish People! Yitzy, this concept is woven into the very fabric of the parsha that you read today. So much of today’s parsha is about how one Jew has to help another Jew. How we have a responsibility towards each other. How we must financially support those who are in need and build them up. But do you want to know something unbelievable? Something I find truly remarkable? The word the Torah so often uses is the word Goel. Goel means redeemer. What an unusual word. The Torah teaches us something amazing. When we are there for other Jews- we redeem them. The same word we use to describe the Moshiach- the Geula- that very same word is the word we use to describe one jew being there for another. In fact listen to the incredibly beautiful and poetic way the Ohr HaChaim describes the capacity we have to be there for other Jess in this week’s parsha: Yitzy, do you hear what the Ohr HaChaim is saying- we Jews have the capacity to redeem each other! We can infuse the light of Torah and spirituality back into each other! Every time Natan Sharansky held steadfast in his faith in G-d he gave strength to King David himself. Every time a hostage, hidden in the worst possible circumstance stays strong- he or she is giving strength to all of us. Yitzy, when a Jewish young man, embraces his yiddishekit, in the most beautiful and spiritual way you have done today. When you read the Torah and share words of the Torah today, you give strength to the entire Jewish People. Because it is you who reminds us all that no matter what terrible things are going on in the world, or how anti-Semitic the ICC is or anyone else- it is you who reminds us that there is a bright future for the Jewish People. And it’s not just in the way you did your Bar Mitzvah today. But it’s in the way you comport yourself each and every day. It’s in the way that you behave with such a beautiful Noam HaMiddot, such wonderful character refinement, its in the way you learn Torah in school and in your spare time, its in the way that you interact with your teachers and rabbeim. And more than that. It’s in the way you learn the lessons that your wonderful parents teach you. How dedicated they are to our community and to the Jewish People. Your mother, a superstar teacher of our children, transmits our Jewish heritage to the next generation of Jewish youth in our community each and every day. Your father’s commitment to outreach through his dedicated work at Olami shows your care beyond just the wall of our community but the entire Jewish people. Yitzy- your parents and your family give strength, to our Shul, our community, and the entire Jewish People. “V’Atta Yitzy Eini Kol Yisrael Alecha” – And now Yitzy the eyes of the entire Jewish People are upon you as well. And we are confident that you too will give much chizzuk and strength to the entire Jewish People. Mazal Tov!
All Eyes Are OnAll Eyes Are On You: Kirschbaum Bar Mitzvah Behar 5784
