Jace Weissleder [October 15, 2022] ki tisa

Shabbat shalom!

And thank you -- for coming to my Bar Mitzvah.

It's been a long journey to get here, and I really appreciate those

who have traveled from near and far to be here in this special

moment.

Six months ago I started to work on my Torah portion. I was

really struggling back then, I was always thinking to myself...

“How in the world am I going to learn Hebrew, and get all of

this down before October??”

But here we are today, all gathered together!

I am very proud of myself for working this hard, and pushing

myself above and beyond for this day.

My torah portion that we read this week as this Shabbat falls

during the festival of Sukkot, is called ki tisa, and is about how

Moses went away for 40 days.

Many people got worried, so they built a golden calf and started

worshiping it. When Moses came back from Mt. Sinai, he and

G-d felt betrayed and forgotten, they were very angry and

Moses broke the tablets of the ten commandments.

A little later G-d and Moses forgive the israelites. G-d made

two new tablets and gave them to Moses.

When I was studying my Torah portion, it made me think... why

did Moses respond in the way he did? I understand why Moses

and G-d were angry -- but I don't think the way that they

responded was appropriate at that moment.

For instance, in chapter 32 verse 10: “My anger may blaze forth

against them and that I may destroy them,” says God -- and so

he did.

“Why would G-d and Moses act the way they did?”

Personally, I would have not acted this way, I would be mad but

I wouldn’t want to take my anger out on the Israelites. I think he

could have acted differently, and g-d didn't have to be so harsh.

Moses also thinks that god shouldn't have been so rash.

The people were just scared that there was no one to worship,

so they made the golden calf for their own sake.

When I get angry, I sometimes just go skate, it lets me be

independent and it helps me calm down. If available, I like to

skate and hangout with my friends.

We usually just ride around town and skate or scooter around

different schools. My friends also have E-bikes, that we ride

around and have fun on.

Being out with my friends also makes me happy, and helps to

lift me up when I’m frustrated. Recently, I learned so many more

tricks on my scooter and skateboard, and I was pretty happy

about that. Going out with friends -- or alone -- just brings me

overall happiness.

Another way I sometimes cope, is I go to my dog Twyla, and lay

or sit with her. She is a pitbull mix. And she is super sweet.

Many people are scared of pitbulls, but not all of them are

harmful. Twyla would never hurt anyone or anything!

For my Mitzvah project, I wanted to help out the homeless and

the less fortunate.

I found an organization called Skate for Change, that helps out

the homeless.

Skate for Change is about riding your skateboard, scooter,

bicycle ect. around town and giving out essentials like clothes,

water, food and more to the less fortunate.

We reached out to them and they were thrilled to find out we

were interested in helping.

As it turns out, Skate for Change is located in Nebraska!

They told us that no one is currently supporting them in the Bay

Area, so I was inspired to get started and before I knew it, a box

of with over 50 socks arrived in the mail, to hand out to the

homeless.

I haven’t gone out yet but I can’t wait!

In conclusion, My torah portion tries to teach us about anger --

and how to deal with anger.

We don’t want to be like g-d and hurt people, we want to find

other ways to deal with our anger.

I would like to appreciate Rabbi Elana and Cantor David for

supporting me so much and making this possible. I’d like to

thank Lisa Bialkin, for teaching me Hebrew and all the blessings

and prayers.

Next, I would like to thank my dad for driving me everywhere

and always being so fun and cool to be with.

I would like to thank my mom for making me breakfast every

morning and helping me in so many ways, and always playing

kedima on the beach with me on Block island!

And thank you to my sister, Summer, for being so fun and

awesome; and my dogTwyla, for being there for me for when

times are tough.

Lastly, I would like to thank YOU for being here in this moment

to celebrate my Bar Mitzvah.

Thank you and Shabot Shalom!