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gram, and attend a minimum
of eight Saturday morning
services."
Fulfilling this requirement
was easy for Ilona. "I enjoy
going to services," she says. "I
go every week because I think
it's important to pray. It
makes me feel better about
myself!'
Ilona served as religious
vice president of the Shaarey
Zedek b'nai mitzvah club, and
received a scholarship from
the synagogue to spend four
weeks this summer at Camp
Ramah, a Hebrew-speaking
camp in Canada.
Are all students as eager as
Ilona? "Students differ," ex-
plains Rabbi Groner. "Ilona is
a fine student who is highly
motivated. Many students
represent the same level of
motivation and achievement
as Ilona, but some do not.
"Ilona's sense of Jewish
pride is einforced by the at-
titudes and commitments of
her parents. The participa-
tion of children is intended to
express and affirm their com-
mitment to Jewish learning
and Jewish life."
According to Ilona, one of
the most interesting ques-
tions in her bat mitzvah
folder asked about the
significance of having
Hebrew names. "It really
made me think," she
remembers. "I'm named after
my great-grandmother and
my great-great-grandmother,
so I am keeping their memory
alive.
"We have Hebrew names to
honor our Jewish heritage
and let people know we are
proud to be Jewish."
Ilona says she does mitzvot
regularly. She said she at-
tends services, lights the
candles, gives tzedakah and
respects her elders. "I call my
grandparents every, day and
help them when they need it."
Ilona buys trees to plant in
Israel and has written to her
twin in Russia. In addition,
she volunteers her time to
help the physically and men-
tally handicapped at a near-
by school. She is looking for-
ward to continuing her
Jewish education.
According to Rabbi Groner,
there may be a mitzvah pro-
gram at Shaarey Zedek in the
near future. "We are talking
about implementing a mitz-
vah program next year that
would possibly included a
community service project, a
synagogue service project,
and a religious school pro-
ject."
The b'nai mitzvah folder
also includes a section for the
parents to fill out titled "If I
were the Rabbi." Ilona's
mother, Carol Gale, syas if
she were addressing her

daughter as a bat mitzvah,
she would focus on Ilona's ac-
complishments and her
responsibilities to the Jewish
religion.
"I would stress her respon-
sibility to the Jewish com-
munity and to the State of
Israel. I would affirm her
responsibility to keep a
Jewish home, to provide her
children with the same
background she has had and
to marry someone Jewish
because that is the only way
to perpetuate Judaism?'
Is a bar or bat mitzvah to-
day for the child or for the
parents? "Our traditions bind
together the generations,"
Rabbi Groner answers. "We
did not create them. The
significance of these rituals
are not a product of one
generation. They represent a
continuity of Jewish learning
and participation!'
According to Marvin
Kassof, Shaarey Zedek has of-
fered b'not mitzvah for less
than ten years. "The coned-
tive voice of the membership
has brought about an evolv-
ing change towards equality,"
he said. "The question of bat
mitzvah and women is a pro-
blematic issue. There is no
consensus among Conser-
vative Jews. The rituals are
onoing; they are not fixed!'

essica Kirzner attends
services at Young Israel
of Southfield, an Or-
thodox congregation. Follow-
ing Orthodox observance, she
will not read from the Torah
at her bat mitzvah. She will
attend services in the syna-
gogue and, before the Kid-
dush, she will present a Dvar
Torah, a presentation about
the weekly Torah reading.
Her Dvar Torah will include
comments concerning her bat
mitzvah twin in Russia. She
will also express her thoughts
about the destruction and
rebuilding of the First Temple
and relate it to thoughts of
her grandparents as survivors
of the Holocaust and the
rebuilding of their lives.
She also celebrated her bat
mitzvah recently in Israel,
with a speech at the dedica-
tion of a grove of trees in her
honor, and at a ceremony on
top of Masada.
When asked what bat mitz-
vah means, Jessica replied,
"Reaching the age of mitzvot
and responsibility. I will be
taking responsibility for my
actions and be able to fulfill
all my religious obligations."
"Bat mitzvah is a modern
invention," explains Rabbi
Elimelech Goldberg of Young
Israel of Southfield. "Women
have a higher level of
spirituality intrinsically,
Continued on Page 26

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