Weekend Update

Yesterday, we reintroduced some Italians to a bygone past-time of theirs: Cautiously and bewilderedly looking-on at Jewish life cycle events.

Yes, it seems it has been a while since Staten Island's much less tropical (and less classy) South Beach has seen its share of Jewish events, but Sunday night it saw its first bas mitzvah in, what I can with near certainty assure you is, all of recorded history. Yes, my wife's 12-year-old cousin held a very festive, not quite traditional ("So You Think You Can Dance"-themed), but much more religious than previously expected ceremony at The Vanderbilt @ South Beach.

The ceremony itself was outside on a private portion of the beach, which brought the aforementioned curio-shock from the usual passers-by. Sitting holding a balloon, which was released at the appropriate time in honor of the bas mitzvah girl's late relatives, I was struck with the vibrancy of the Jewish religion. The ceremony was as much a testament to our ability to survive persecution (the bygone bigotry of the bygone Soviet Union) and the importance of passing the traditions down to future generations.

Some things are inevitably lost in translation. The rabbi may not have been able to speak clearly in Russian (can't verify but in-laws assured me it was a relatively funny accent), English (think drunk Boris Badenov singing "Happy byors-day to you!") or Hebrew (weird Ashkenazi-Russian accent most likely stemming from a direct transliteration first into Russian where "h" becomes "g", so the להתעטף of the tallis blessing which strictly speaking shouldn't have taken place at a 6pm evening bas mitzvah became "le-gis'atayf"). The rabbi may have been wearing a bishop's mitre (as far as the Italian on-lookers knew). The girl's father may not have able to repeat particularly proficiently after the rabbi, but this may have been due to the latter's shortcomings, as detailed above.

But all in all, as I went up to the pseudo-bimah/stage with my wife to light one of the bas mitzvah girl's candles (a grand tradition dating back to . . . ? I actually have no clue where this came from, but all the Russians love it), I could not help but be honored to assist the girl in reaching out to her not quite forgotten religious and cultural identity.