nother one of my friends bat mitzvah Torah portion was Lech Lecha. She told me that this certain portion told the story about how God spoke to Abraham, telling him that he must go to the land of his birthplace, Canaan. Abraham makes it to Canaan, where he then builds an altar to continue in spreading the message of there only being one God. As he makes it to Canaan, a famine arises, and makes Abraham depart from his homeland to Egypt, being the first Jewish man to ever do so. Not wanting to leave, he was convinced by his wife to do so for the sake of himself and his family.
When Lexi read this story, right away she thought of a perfect situation that connected her personal life to this one. When she was about to enter high school, her family decided to move from one town of New Jersey to another, which meant she had to switch schools. This was a little upsetting for her, but the one thing that made her happy was being able to join a sports team since her old school didn’t have many. Within the first week of school, Lexi joined the cheerleading squad and was happier than ever. After a few months, she knew there was a problem with her back and was always in pain, and after multiple doctor visits, she was told she had to give up cheerleading and try to find a different sport that would be less harmful on her back. Even though she didn’t want to, Lexi listened to the doctor’s orders and her parent’s advice and became a member of the school’s tennis team. The moral that Lexi got from her Torah portion, and what is easy to see in her story, is to do what is better for yourself, along with the help from your loved ones. Lexi never wanted to switch teams as her passion always came from cheerleading, but knowing that it would effect her ...
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...munity, and the storytelling within the celebration. I have learned from this what occurs behind the scenes at the bar and bat mitzvah service and what you can truthfully learn from the services if you were to pay deep attention. If I didn’t get the experience to sit down with these five girls, I would of always thought that bar and bat mitzvahs were about the party and celebration. From my experience of listening to them I have learned that bat mitzvahs are also about storytelling and learning from the past. These stories have been passed down from ages ago and teach us a lesson from our ancestors that we would of never been able to learn about without the Torah. I can now, from my experience, say that there should be a new definition of bar and bat mitzvahs in the dictionary: the celebration of storytelling through the eyes of the bat (bar) mitzvah and the Torah.
Judaism is one of the oldest religious practices all over the world. It literally gave a start to two the most popular religions nowadays: Islam and Christianity. It seems that everybody must be familiar with the basics of this religion, though it is not true. The majority of people know only a few attributes or ceremonies that Judaism is using until modern times, such as Menorah (the candelabrum with seven branches), Star of David (traditionally known as the symbol of Judaism) and, let’s say, the Bar Mitzvah ceremony. What people are missing (apart from the associations) is how truly symbolic all of them are in the practice of Judaism. Bar or Bat Mitzvah, for example, present practically the basis of Jewish culture and religion. The idea of how and why it became so important is what we will try to look through.
and the similar right of passage for the jewish girl called the bat mitzvah. Another
In the book Cycle of Hope, Tricia Downing went from a competitive cyclist to a paraplegic in a matter of minutes. After spending the summer competing in multiple cycling races, Downing is back home enjoying the sunny autumn day riding her favorite route with her friend, Matt. Together, they go for a bike ride sightseeing and appreciating the beauty of the city. As they reminisce about their enjoyable summer, a car appears out of nowhere, and crashes into her. After landing on her back, Downing recalls that something feels terribly wrong; consequently, this woman becomes paralyzed from the waist down. The author uses the strength, courage, and determination learned as a competitive athlete to overcome her disability.
Exodus was really the foundation of Judaism; it was the reason the Israelites settled in Israel. Exodus gave the Jews hope that God would take care of them. It marked the time when the Israelites were delivered from bondage as slaves in Egypt. Exodus is commemorated by Jewish people every year at Passover.
One day God spoke to Abraham with an intention of making a covenant with man whom he chose as his partner. Abraham was told by God to leave his home to a different land since the people of Ur worshipped idols of wood and stone. The covenant made between them had a lot of promises. Abraham left with his wife Sarai, Lot his nephew,
Amelia, another protagonist, is an athlete who plays soccer every fall. The rest of the year, she satisfies her desire to exercise by running and lifting weights. As Kristi's best friend, she knows that Kristi is suffering and wants to help. She has a disposition that is markedly different from that of Kristi: she is not afraid to yell at friends w...
In 1933, Adolf Hitler, a leader of the Nazi Party, rose to power in Germany. The Nazi Party abused their power in many different aspects, which creating issues beyond Germany’s borders. This abuse of power lead to the horrific event we know today as the Holocaust. The Holocaust caused over eleven million deaths, with approximately one million of them being children. The Nazis targeted certain groups of individuals including Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, mentally or physically disabled, and anyone who did not agree with Nazi Party. The Nazi Party had excessive power, which was used to undermine the others below them. Out of all of the individuals who were targeted by the Nazis; the Jewish were the most discriminated against. Six million out of the eleven million executed were Jews. The journey of the Jews through a span of only fifteen years showed how one event in history could be so crucial. Jewish individuals’ lives took a toll for the worse as the Nazis rose to power.
With the appearance of Abraham we enter into datable history. Abraham (known as “the father of the Jews”) is also significant because the nation of Israel are his descendants.
Gymnastics is an intense sport that pushes a body to its limit. Franchesca Hutton-Lau has managed to excel in this challenging and dangerous sport, handle a job, school, and still be involved in church. She has had opportunities to travel around the country to compete and has an amazing support system to push her to be her best. Chesca has a very different life from the average high school student.
I decided that I wanted to play a sport, I chose volleyball. Most of my friends played the sport so it wasn't hard for me to adjust and make new friends. Becoming a student athlete was a big adjustment for me, I could no longer float through my classes but I need to excel. And that's exactly what I did. For the first time in my high school career I made not only honor roll, but principal’s honor roll. For the first time my mom was proud of my report card, that made me even more proud. From then on I knew I wanted nothing less than what I earned, good grades and a proud family. From my decision to chose to become a student athlete not only make me work harder but, be great at everything I put my mind to. I had motivation to stay successful, to stay eligible. Three years ago if you were to ask me where I thought I would be my senior year, I probably would have told you low level classes barely making it by. Now here I am today excelling in my education preparing to take the next step in my future, college. Even if we don’t understand why we go through them, we have to be willing to let our obstacles become out
Wangyot is a transgender female, so she was born a man but identified as a woman. Her school administration worked together to come up with a policy to allow Wangyot to compete during the school year because she wanted to participate in girl’s volleyball, girl’s basketball, and girl’s track. Wangyot decided she wanted to participate in these sports because she wanted to set an example for all other transgender students interested in being a student-athlete. In the state championship race, Wangyot placed third in one event and fifth in another. Wangyot showed that there is not much of an advantage to her because she did not win.
“Certainly, the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place. Humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights. But we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they had been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and so a personal redemption; of collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind. Without Jews it might have been a much emptier place” (Paul Johnson).
My previous knowledge of Judaism and Jews was only what I saw in television sitcoms and movies, which satirically portrayed them as rich and traditional in nature. Embarking on this Comparative Religion course, I knew there would be some revelations on many of the religions being discussed but so far, Judaism has surprised me the most. This is not because of their spirituality, but there customs and strict adherence to tradition.
I had played on the volleyball team all through my junior high days, and was a starter on the “A” freshman team when I reached high school. As a sophomore, I couldn’t believe it when I got the towel thrown in on me. I was devastated when I was cut from the team. Volleyball was my life; I absolutely loved the sport. How could they do this to me? Everyone told me things would turn out fine, but how did they know? A close friend of mine wrote me a letter stating, “I know that right now it is hard to accept the paths that God has chosen for us, but I am sure whatever you decide to do with what has been thrown in your way you can surpass everyone else”. I thought about what that really meant, and decided she was right. I had been thrown something I was not sure what to do with or how to handle, but with a little advice from my brother, Chris, I decided to take a risk and try something new. I chose to become a member of our school’s cross-country team.
... Abraham’s call because his descendants were destined to receive God’s divine purpose. However, Isaac, the child of faith in God’s promise, was to be the progenitor of the spiritual birthright: “for in Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Genesis 21:12, KJV). The New Testament contrasts Ishmael to Isaac, “But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.” (Galatians 4:23, KJV) The principle of faith in God’s promise as the means of election is established in Abraham’s progeny as it was introduced by his response to God’s call. The reliance of anything other than God Almighty for the fulfilment of the promise is eradicated in Abraham’s test of faith concerning the sacrifice of Isaac. Faith in God Almighty is the only means for Israel’s existence and election in history to fulfill its divine destiny and divine purpose.