One of the most well-known Jewish traditions is the bar or bat mitzvah, when teens are given the chance to ascend to Jewish adulthood in front of their friends, family and fellow congregants.
But for a lucky few, that ceremony and its significance come back later in life.
One of the lesser-known Jewish traditions is the second b’nai mitzvah — traditionally held at age 83, as a reference to a new 13 years after the 70-year-lifespan mentioned in Psalms. Obviously, not everyone reaches 83. Many who do are not in the mental or physical shape required to stand on the bimah and read from the Torah.
So, for Burt Abrams, who is scheduled to take to the bimah as an 83-year-old on June 14 at Beth Tikvah B’nai Jeshurun in Glenside, the ceremony will be just as special as the one he had in 1955.
“It’s not terribly commonplace, and it should be,” he said. “There should be a reason to celebrate our Judaism well beyond our first bar mitzvah. I guess that’s the reason I wanted to go through this.”
For Abrams, who had his first bar mitzvah at Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley when his family belonged there in his youth, the best case scenario following the June 14 ceremony is that both older and younger congregants at BTBJ are inspired to continue living Jewishly.
“I want to be a role model for younger generations of my family as we try to hand down the practice to our children and grandchildren and so on. So that it may continue even beyond our lifetimes into theirs,” Abrams said.
A lot has changed since Abrams first took the bimah in 1955, and he said that this offers him the chance to reflect. For one, Abrams said that his first bar mitzvah came at a time when only boys could become b’nai mitzvah during a Saturday morning service at Har Zion. Girls had to stick to Friday nights.
He also said that, unfortunately, Jewish life for young people was simply stronger and more common. He recalled how, growing up, any given weekend at his synagogue had three b’nai mitzvot ceremonies.
“There were just so many young people in religious school,” he said.
While there may not be three ceremonies held every weekend at many modern synagogues, Abrams did say that the BTBJ community is thriving and producing many proud b’nai mitzvot. In fact, he is not reading his original Torah portion because that date was already taken.
“The dates are handed out years in advance for the 13-year-olds, and I found that my original reading was already taken — so I just went to the next one down the line,” he said.
Abrams will read from Beha’alotcha, which tells in part of the Menorah in the Tabernacle in the Sinai Desert ahead of the Israelites’ journey to their homeland. Abrams has served as the gabbai, or rabbi’s assistant, at BTBJ, so he is no stranger to being on the bimah and reading from the Torah. However, he said that typically he reads from Beha’alotcha around Chanukah, not in the summer. The timing offers Abrams a unique chance to approach the portion from a different lens.
Another element of the 83-year-old bar mitzvah is that it offers the person a chance to give a true, long-term perspective on a given portion. While 13-year-olds often have enlightening thoughts on their reading, an 83-year-old like Abrams has a whole lifetime of experiences to take into their commentary.
He said that he will be able to offer a lot of perspective on the portion to this end, as he is — of course — a completely different man than he was 70 years ago.
“I really can’t think of one [thing] that is the same,” he said, in reference to his first and second b’nai mitzvot. “At my first one, I was very nervous, and now I really don’t feel that nervous. At my first bar mitzvah, it was more centered on myself rather than family members and congregants, and now I think I’m more centered on others than myself.”
