Bella's Bat Mitzvah
Parashat Sh’lach
This Torah portion was about Moses sending the 12 spies to our explore the Land of Israel. The place we should feel G-d’s presence the most. All 12 could see the beauty of the land, but only Joshua and Caleb believed in themselves that they could conquer the land and believed in G-d that he would help them do it to bring them home.
This week was the first time in my life I have ever prayed. Friday night when I lit my shabbos candle and prayed, I felt a rush over my body. Someone explained it as I was touching my soul for the first time. Then I prayed at the wall and in my note. Last night I found out one of my prayers has already been answered.
Just like in my Torah portion, how G-d showed that if you believe in yourself that you can conquer your dreams and believe in G-d, he will help you, like he did for Joshua and Caleb. I experienced that first hand for myself for the first time.
Sometimes the greatest views are not what you see when you look out from the top of the mountain, or as far as the eye can see, but what we see when we look inside at our own hearts.
I am on a journey to discover what is in my heart. And how I too, might be a person who has God in her heart.
Thank you to everyone here who has been a part of my journey in finding myself, a relationship with g-d, and helping me build a community I never had. I know my Poppop is looking down and is so proud of my journey here and thankful for all of you who have been a part of it.
Growing up I did not have a large Jewish community in any of the places I lived. When I was in maryland we had a handful of Jews in our county and my mom and I would spend some Friday nights at Shabbat dinner at the rabbis house. Since our community was so small, he had a small following and very limited funding. However, Rabbi Kushi did not let this waiver his commitment to my mom and I and the rest of our community to bring us together every Friday night and continue to support us even after we have moved away. As my first mitzvah, I am going to donate money to support the his programs and services to hopefully provide another girl like me a sense sense of community and identity.
Sent from my iPhone