Jemma's Words of Torah as She Celebrated Becoming Bat Mitzvah

On Shabbat Ki Tavo, we celebrated with joy as Jemma was called to the Torah and celebrated becoming bat mitzvah. Her words of Torah and her poetry and art are a delight and we are so lucky that she has shared them with us and that she and her parents have given me permission to share them here.

If you have already heard her words and seen her art, you know how delicious they are.
I’m thrilled we can enjoy them again here.
If you are experiencing Jemma’s Torah for the first time, you are in for a treat.

She would love to hear your reflections and even more to read your own words or prose or poetry and see your art if you create anything in response to our holidays or to what she has shared.

Please do not copy or use her art or share her poetry without the express permission of Jemma and her parents.

I am so lucky to be one of her teachers, and to be her rabbi.
Rabbi Ariel

Shabbat Shalom.

As I prepared to become bat mitzvah, learning about Jewish holidays was important to me because I grew up celebrating the big Jewish holidays, but I didn’t really know much about them. I also didn’t know their stories. Going into my young adulthood, I felt strongly that I needed to really know about our holidays, I needed to get to know their stories, and I needed to understand more about my culture. I wanted to know more about who I am and my ancestry. The holidays mean so much to me because I know my mom grew up with them and my mom’s mom grew up with them and her mom . . . all the way back through our ancestors.

When Rabbi Ariel and I talked about how I would learn about the holidays, she said I should learn about them as me and she would support and help me. We didn’t have a date for my bat mitzvah yet, so we didn’t know it would be Ki Tavo or that I’d be chanting about blessings, but she also said that we each bless the world by being who we are in all that we are.

I am a writer and an artist. One of the things that I learned this year is that being Jewish, being part of our tradition, means being part of Jewish tradition. It means reading and learning the stories our ancestors told and also writing and telling our own.

Learning about the holidays from Rabbi Ariel, reflecting on what my mom has taught me, reading about the holidays in the Torah, and reading things other Jewish people have written about them gave me a lot of ideas to work with. I was able to take all of those perspectives and ideas and create my own idea - something entirely new and also entirely old.

Rosh HaShanah is one of the holidays I’ve grown up celebrating in my family. When I wrote the first poem I’m going to share with you, I wanted to write something fun, something about growing up, something about celebrating this holiday with my family, and of course I had to include honey for a sweet new year.

I am the Apple You Dip in Honey

I am the apple you dip in honey
But before I was, I was just a seed
Planted in the ground; soon to be a tree
I grew and grew until I was; a happy little fellow, ready to bud
I sprouted and bloomed, with beautiful colors
Until I turned red.
My leaves brushed in the air as if I were flying,
Ready to be eaten for Rosh Hashanah.
My core formed, and so did my skin, a nice bright red I was, crinkled and thin.
Oh, where was the little girl I saw play about?
All night and day, she would scream and shout!
I want to celebrate the new year
I waited, and waited, and finally she picked me!
She sliced and chopped and my waiting was over
She dipped me in sweet honey and said a few words,
All my life I’d been growing and learning and forming myself
And waiting and waiting to be here
To be the fruit that will bring this young girl
A sweet new year
So with that,
I heard the prayers
A good life, waiting for this day and a happy, sweet new year!

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year. Jewish families and friends come together to have a festive meal and dip apples in honey to represent the sweetness in the upcoming year. Every Jewish person is a little bit different in how they observe our tradition. Some Jews take off work or stay home from school on Rosh HaShanah because according to Jewish law that’s what we are supposed to do. Many people go to worship services or pray on their own most of the day. Others of us celebrate differently. In my family, we watch the services online, and it’s also important to us to celebrate the new year. We say, “Happy New Year!” to each other. In my religious school classes, we say, “L’Shana Tova!” which means “Have a Good Year!”

This next poem, A Rose Gold Glow, made a lot of sense to me when I wrote it and now it makes even more sense. However my past was, I can’t change it, and however blinding my emotions are I can learn how to manage them. Really no matter what has happened - good or bad or hard or wonderful - being in the present and going into the future I get to take my self and my soul with me and that is a really big part of what celebrating the Jewish New Year is about.

A Rose Gold Glow

It’s humid out with a slight breeze
The purple Texas flowers are large, beyond the trees
There is a shimmering lake with rocks and ivy
A glossy sparkling waterfall is up above it
I lay on a bench and look up at the trees
I close my eyes waiting; my soul is glowing out of my body
It shines so bright, I am blinded
My eyes were black when they were shut-
When I opened them up, all I could see was-
A rose gold glow
I find my way to a gate
I stare and wait, but I am blinded by the shining light of my past so I can not see ahead
My mind stopped walking on the path of the woods, so I decide right then and there-
It’s time, I am me again, no longer heavy with tiresome thoughts,
Blind and glowing, me again, my heart relieved from the weight of the earth and world, I lay and sleep
For my soul is the rose gold glow.

Jews around the world celebrate Hanukkah with fried foods such as sufganiyot - a jelly filled donut, and latkes - a fried potato pancake. We also play a game called dreidel, a top that spins, and in my family, whichever side it lands on is the amount of gelt - chocolate coins - you either put in the pot, or take out. On Hanukah in my family we also exchange gifts.

Jewish adults and children retell the story of the Assyrian Greek empire attacking the Israelites and taking over the Temple in Jerusalem. The Jews, led by the Maccabees, fought back. When the Maccabees retook The Temple, they found a jar of oil that they were going to use to light the Menorah - the special lamp the kohanim, the priest lit every day. They thought the oil would only last them one night, but a miracle happened and it lasted 8. That's why Chanaka lasts 8 nights, each night representing another day that the menorah stayed lit. The Hebrew date of Hanaka is the 25th of Kislev which typically falls in December, but can also fall in November.

(P.S. This holiday is really spelled chet-nun-vav-chaf-hay in Hebrew which means when we transliterate it into English, letters get confusing.)

When I was writing The Hanukkah Jar I wanted to tell the story of the jar of oil that made it to the menorah in a fun and poetic way that’s also touching. I wanted people to imagine the many different possibilities of how the jar stayed safe, and that if any one thing hadn’t kept the jar safe then the Maccabees wouldn’t have had the oil to light the menorah in the Temple - and we wouldn’t have Hanukkah. Anything could have gone wrong. Lots of things did go wrong. And the jar made it and so have we.

The Hanukkah Jar
The dove picked me up and I started to grow-
The wind carried the wings of the bird that looked like snow-
Which soared towards a ship that had a rainbow-
I was an olive, a small one, so-
I was made into oil, I know-
I was dripped into a jar with a cork on top-
The man who made me into oil, I know his name was Noah
He passed me down to his children for generations-
I was tossed and thrown for hundreds, thousands of years-
But not one scratch, not one tear
I always made sure I would not perish-
My jar and oil will not spill or scratch-
For I, the Hanukkah Jar will forever stay here
I was shoved under some rocks by a man named Jacob-
Another few thousand years passed by and I was finally found
When all the temples inner beauty was onto the ground-
The pretty things inside its walls-
Its stories and laughs and community was torn and downed-
And not one single drop of oil was to be seen-
I was the hero of this story-
Or so I thought-
Maybe it was the ones who carried me for those thousand years-
Or the ones who kept my story alive-
Maybe it's the Maccabees-
Or the rock that kept me safe-
Or the feral cat that made sure a snake didn’t even think about chipping my jar-
Maybe it’s you-
I was used in a menorah, a holder for a few jars with little wicks inside-
I lasted eight days
For I am the Hanukkah Jar-
Who will light up the night.

This year, preparing for my bat mitzvah, I learned that Judaism needs our different perspectives because if we are thinking from only one side of a story in any situation, then there will only be one type of answer. That means it’ll be stagnant. One perspective could also be wrong, or even just incomplete. If we only have one perspective, that’s stagnant. If we have two perspectives, that can be an argument or even a war, like the one I wrote about in my prayer for peace. But if we have many perspectives and a whole conversation, then we can grow new ideas.

Before I started really learning about our holidays I thought, “Yeah, it’s a good holiday and you can eat a lot of good food!” But now I know there is a lot between the lines, or as Rabbi Ariel says in the white spaces between the words. I know more about the work and the love not only in what the holidays are about, but also in the ways our ancestors made sure to give them to us. Each story they told and then told and eventually gave to us has something in it that I want to learn.
I particularly love the stories of the bravery of women like Esther and Rebecca and Miriam.

When I think about being Jewish and becoming a Bat Mitzvah, I think about being proud about who I am and about being different from many people, and it’s also an honor because it’s been passed down for thousands of years. So many people have fought to be Jewish. Celebrating the holidays and learning the stories and the traditions - carrying that all on - is the least I can do as a Jewish person. Teaching people about my culture and how I grew up is part of being Jewish because a lot of people I meet don’t even know anything about being Jewish or know anyone who is Jewish besides me. One day, I hope I can teach my children.

Watching Over an Ocean of Buildings, Jemma Reue

I want to thank my mom for raising me the way she did - being a parent is hard and I know that from watching her raise me. It takes courage and time and energy and love, and my mom does everything for me. If I need anything she is there in seconds. My mom has reminded me to practice, scheduled our days around preparing, she’s planned everything. She’s such a good mom, she’s awesome. She also pretty much inspired me to do this.

I want to thank my awesome dad, too. When mom and I are down he makes us laugh. He’ll make jokes about the most random things or bring up an inside joke that we made maybe five years ago and it’s still funny. He takes care of me and mom. He’s always right there by our side. He fixes everything. He’s our rock. He has listened to all of the planning and talk about this bat mitzvah celebration. He brings me dinner during my Jewish classes, he’s really supportive.

I want to thank my grandma Vicki, my dad's mom, and step-grandpa Glenn. Grandma and I are really close, she’s like another mom to me. She’s always been my rock, too. I could talk to her about anything for hours or nothing for hours. We make each other laugh and they spoil me rotten. I know she doesn’t know a lot about this stuff, but she supports me in whatever I’m doing.

I want to thank Grandpa Don and Grandma Barbara for raising my mom and her sisters and also for spoiling me rotten. They always make time for me and all their grandchildren and are so nice. We talk about school and what I’ve been up to lately and it’s great to hang out together and hear stories about my Jewish ancestors. I know they are excited to see me celebrate being Jewish.

I want to thank my Aunt Kimmy, Aunt Sam, Uncle Mark, and Uncle Rob for watching me grow up and become the person I am today. You always find ways to make me chuckle and you are also all so kind to me. I love getting to talk to Sam because she’s always up to new exciting things. I love getting to talk about LA with Aunt Kimmy and how awesome it is living there. It’s always cool to catch up with Rob when he’s in town, and talking with Uncle Mark is always a pleasure.

I want to thank my cousins Sally, Savannah, Jacob, Ross, and Ben for always being goofy and spending time with me when I go over to my grandparents’ house. They are always supportive of my school and my art, and they always support me as a person and want to know who I am. We’ve watched each other grow up. I remember a lot from when we were little, singing random songs around the house. Now we’re older and we’re all more serious and it’s different, and still always amazing. I want to thank them for always being there.

I want to thank all of my friends for always, always being there for me. For entertaining me when I’m bored and scratching at the walls. All of my friends support me and my art and my writing and we play games together. Some friends I get really deep with, and some of us more just hang out and have fun, and I love and appreciate all of you. Most of all, thank you for being you.

I want to thank my rabbi for teaching me everything, and for being a listening ear when we aren’t talking about Jewish identity and bat mitzvah prep. She is an amazing teacher. She pushes me enough to make sure I learn. Starting this a few years ago I didn’t know much about my Jewish identity, but learning with her and hearing her ideas and sharing mine and bouncing those ideas around - now I feel really proud to be Jewish. Being Jewish means being caring and compassionate, and it means having all these stories and traditions. It’s empowering. It’s been an honor to be able to learn from her as a rabbi, a teacher, and a friend.

I know you haven’t asked for an encore, but I do have one more poem I really want to share with you.

When I was at Sinai

When I was at Sinai, I heard the electric light that boomed across the land
The light destroyed the trees and life anywhere it touched
When I was at Sinai, I saw the noise that came after the electric light that shook me and the others all night
When I was at Sinai, I tasted the earthy smells that filled the air with delight
I opened my eyes to smell the colorful land
When I was at Sinai, I touched the flavorous dairies
The feeling of the dairy was covering my senses with a warm blanket on this night
When I was at Sinai, I tasted the prickly fresh long grass against me
The colorful buds and the textured soil beneath me
My feet planted in the ground, as if I were a tree, stood as still as a statue, while I was admiring every sense
The sound of the light; The taste of the shake; the visions of the dew in the air; the feeling of the dairy; the taste of the long grass; my feet in the dirt, as still as a breathing statue
I sit forever in this peaceful state
Forever lasting as long as you can listen to the light, watch the sounds, touch the tastes, smell the colors, and hear the light

Shabbat Shalom.

From the rabbi:
If you would like to see more of Jemma’s art and read more of her writing, she has invited us to enjoy both in “Jemma’s Bat Mitzvah Journal.”

Bivracha.
Blessings.