No, it's not the beginning of a joke....
Most of our friends know my husband Glen is Jewish. I was born and raised Catholic, went to Catholic school from Pre-School through High School. Translation... I wore plaid for 12 years, Pre-school & Kindergarten is free dress, ~
When Glen and I talked marriage, I asked to raise our future children Catholic and he graciously agreed. But, I found it very important that they also grow up learning about the Jewish Religion and Culture. It is after-all how their father was raised.
After doing some family research, I found my Great Grandmother Thelma Auerbach-Borthwick was raised by a Catholic Mother and Jewish father of which both later converted to Protestantism. Pheeew! That was a mouthful!
Who knew??? And how cool for the boys to find out that my Great-Great Grandfather Auerbach's father also had a Jewish school in Germany.
On May 18th, Our nephew Jacob, had his Bar Mitzvah, {Glen's siter, Sheri's son}. I was really excited for the boys to experience this coming of age event, for their cousin. I was excited for myself too! I had never been to one either.
The event was three days. There is a Friday night service and family dinner. Unfortunately due to my stop in Springfield to see a Dr., we arrived late in Kansas City and missed the service. We did however make it to a fabulous Bar-B-Que dinner.
Saturday morning was the actual Bar Mitzvah service. It was two hours long. Glen could no longer talk about the hour long Mass and the amount of standing and sitting we do....they beat us by a landslide!
The boys even got to wear yamakuhs for the service.
Here we are before the service in our hotel eating a quick breakfast.
Here are my boys and Jacob photo bombing in the background, Ha!
Then it was followed by a Kiddish luncheon. This was to celebrate The Shabbat or Sabbath. It was DELICIOUS!!
That evening is also the PARTY! This is really for the kids. They are themed to whatever the kids want. Jacob is a 4th of July baby and he wanted a patriotic theme. He wanted Red, White, and Blue with Camouflage too! It was great fun and a wonderful way to get the family together. We had a blast!
We had to leave right away the next morning and missed the brunch. But, we had a wonderful time and what a great experience for all of us. I loved hearing the service in Hebrew and was SO impressed with Jakes hard work and maturity. He thanked each and every one of us for coming to his Bar Mitzvah. He made the boys feel very welcome throughout each event. Preston and Landen remarked numerous times that he even seemed older! We were so proud of him. It was also so nice getting to know Brian's, (Sheri's husband), wonderful family. They were all so kind and welcoming. We felt like we had known them our whole life.
The trip was too short, but very fulfilling. We were so glad everyone got together for such a wonderful celebration. I was proud to be there and grateful for the experience for my boys.
Glen and I had our marriage blessed in the Catholic Church by a wonderful Monsignor. One of the first things he said to Glen was, "Glen, a lot of Christians and even some priests, forget Jesus was Jewish. Without Judaism, there wouldn't be Catholicism." I was glad he said that, I have repeated that line many, many times! Christianity is based on Judaism. The Old Testament is part of the Torah, or to Jewish people its the Only Testament.
So once again, I'm repeating, you have to know where you come from, to be able to move forward in life. This is also true in Religion!
Thank you for letting me share our Jewish adventure!
And a BIG Thank you to Sheri, Brian and Jake for having us to such a beautiful celebration and for making us feel so welcome. We look forward to this coming March, celebrating Natalie's Bat Mitzvah.
To Many More Family Adventures! It's Summer time...Make memories as a family and share!
Happy Memory Making!
Posted with Blogsy
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