Today is the 56th Anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah, which was held on Friday night, April 18th, 1958 at Temple Israel in Westchester, near LAX. I always celebrate this day in my heart.
For I was a 13 year old boy, who in Jewish tradition had just become a man. But in fact, although I was still immature in some ways, I had become a man 5 or 6 years earlier when my father left and I was the sole male in a household of my mother and two younger sisters.
At the age of 12 having no Jewish education and no training in Hebrew, I was told by Temple personnel that my goal of a Bar Mitzvah several months later was impossible.
This would be but one of many times people would incorrectly tell me something was "impossible."
But I was determined to receive a Bar Mitzvah. With the support of the Rabbi, after working very hard and at times struggling, like a "Rocky" story it came to pass against incredible odds.
To me at the time, it was one of my first great accomplishments, and the packed Temple auditorium reinforced that feeling.
It was and is a joyous feeling that has lived within me ever since.
On the 50th Anniversary six years ago, I drove about 15 miles to what was at one time Temple Israel, but has long been a union meeting hall for LAX workers. With the permission of the union staff, I walked into the auditorium and turned on the lights.
As I stepped onto the stage and over to the podium, the room was remarkably unchanged after a half century. The Jewish artifacts including The Torah were gone, but the sense was of the 1950's, with the linoleum floor, seating from that era and possibly the exact flooring and seating as at the time of my Bar Mitzvah.
From the podium I addressed an imaginary audience, as my mind recalled them from so long ago. In a booming voice so I could be clearly heard, I told them that although they didn't know it, they were participating in an event that would change a boy's life, and how much I appreciated them having been there.
From this April 18th, 1958 event many accomplishments would come, but they in part resulted from this special day, reinforced by the support of the audience.
When my April 18th, 2008 talk was completed several minutes later, I thanked everyone in the imaginary audience and after looking across the room, left the stage, turned off the lights and walked back to the parking lot to my car, after thanking the union staff for allowing me to use the auditorium.
And now a soft smile gently lifts the corners of my mouth as I conclude this piece. My heart flutters with joy and I'm thankful for each step on this miraculous journey that is life, including this special event that was a boy's long ago Bar Mitzvah.
Dick
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