Parent's Speech Sample

A Blessing for Your Child

There is no prayer without prayers of the heart. On the day of your child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah, your hearts will be overflowing in prayer. You are invited to share your prayer with your child in a way that honors your child and our community. We invite you to:

• Write an aspirational blessing. Choose to share your hopes for a Jewish future more than stories of what led to this moment.

• Keep the length of the speech to less than 3 minutes.

• Share Torah with your child. Lessons drawn from the text emphasize the value that you also find wisdom and guidance from our ancient text.

parent's speech sample:

Child’s Name,

You have brought so much joy to our family. No one here would believe that the young man who has led us "loud and proud" today used to hide behind the seats, hoping Rabbi Kaiman wouldn’t see him when the kids were called to the bimah! You have embraced Jewish traditions and opportunities for learning with openness and enthusiasm. 

Our text has taught us important leadership lessons that we wish to share as you develop your own Jewish adult character. You seek to be a leader in all that you do, whether it is on the basketball court or on the bimah. The Torah teaches us that a good leader MUST BE open to both giving AND receiving feedback. In order to grow, be recognized, and receive praise, you must be able to continue to accept observations, critiques, and recommendations from others.  

Your job as a leader, however, does not end with just openness to constructive criticism about yourself. We, the Jewish people, are commanded to also give feedback to others. Help others to grow and check for understanding. Change is required for growth. When we express feedback to others, we have the potential to inspire long-lasting change. Giving and receiving feedback are expressions of love. The Torah commands us to love. As you continue your story, please be sure to offer the gift of loving feedback.

We pray that you will always:

• Allow others to recognize, critique, praise, and inspire you.

• To have the power to shape those who you lead.

• Let tradition ground you while encouraging you to question and grow.

Your family and community are so incredibly proud of you. May you go from strength to strength. We love you.