Confirmation 2010
Rabbi Eliezer Havivi

Every year, towards the end of May, we celebrate Confirmation - not so much a graduation, but a send-off from home and home – synagogue, to college and adulthood and beyond, of high school seniors - beautiful and wonderful Jewish young men and women who have grown up in our synagogue, and who consider
Beth David their home.

Although there is a “show-time” – a Confirmation Service on a Shabbat morning where they all get up and speak and get gifts, and we all shep nachas , from them, the best part of Confirmation for me, and perhaps for them, is what happens in the six months before – I get the opportunity to meet with these young adults several times during the year, at my house, over pizza, and to talk with them about their Jewish selves and thoughts, and how Judaism might relate to what is happening in their lives and in their lives in the future.

I truly believe that having a personal relationship with their“home” rabbi is an important building block in their Jewish identities, and our Confirmation sessions are part of building that relationship. And for me, I love being in their company!

And then, I ask them to write an essay about their own exploration of their Jewish identities, which they read on Shabbat morning of Confirmation.

This is not an easy assignment - and we know that their thoughts and identities will develop and change over the years. But nevertheless, as they each prepare to leave home, and our community, set off for college and the beginning of adult, independent life, these essays are the identity which each takes in his or her suitcase.

In the past, we used to print the essays in a booklet that we gave out to the congregation. Now that we are more environmentally aware, we post them on our
website:
www.bethdavidsynagogue.org,
after Confirmation – where you can take a look and see what they have written, in addition to viewing short bios about each that their parents have written about each student.

This year’s Confirmants are:

Sarah Cassell
daughter of William & Joann Cassell
Benji Gray
son of David & Rosemery Gray
Tal Havivi
son of Eli Havivi & Judy Groner
Jennifer Kaplan
daughter of Randall Kaplan & Kathy
Manning
Josh Katz
son of Mark & Cathy Katz
Leah Kouchel
daughter of Stuart & Catherine Kouchel
Daniel Massey
son of David & Wendy Massey
Carmi Medoff
daughter of Jeffrey Medoff & Debra
Silber
William Mendelson
son of Steve & Carmen Mendelson
Bret Segall-Abrams
son of Corey Abrams & Sharon Segall
Michael Shadrin
son of Igor & Kate Vapne
Michael Tuck
son of Marshall & Leslye Tuck

After their speeches, this is what I said to them , and to their parents:

“Confirmants, we are very proud of you. You have each taken part in leading the service this morning, you have each spoken about your Jewish selves and your Jewish experiences, and you are all graduating high school, and most of you are taking flight and leaving Beth David on your way to creating your own independent Jewish lives.

I, as your rabbi, and we, as your home congregation , encourage you to study Torah regularly, to keep your Jewishness in your mind and in your heart, and to continue to grow as Jews, intellectually, and emotionally, and spiritually.

We think that practicing Judaism - learning Torah and doing Mitzvot, and living in a Jewish way, is fulfilling ,and valuable, and a way of finding great meaning in your
lives.

It's my pleasure, on behalf of Beth David Synagogue to present you with a certificate of Confirmation, two personal gifts for each of you –a coffee mug with your Hebrew name on it, and a book by Yossi Katz, whom some of you have
studied with at Alexander Muss High School in Israel – a book about Jewish Heroes. I hope that you’ll enjoy the book and the stories it tells, and I hope that you’ll use the coffee mugs to be proud of your Hebrew names, and also to help you stay awake and alert and focused on the worlds around you, in the years
ahead. “

And to parents:

“This confirmation is not just for confirmants. We Jews know the power of parental influence and example. In fact, if anyone deserves to be confirmed, it's the parents of our confirmants, who have encouraged, and reminded, and car pooled and schlepped, and in some cases, threatened and otherwise insisted that their children continue their Jewish education and socialization. To you parents we say:
Yishar Koach - More Power to you, and Good Job!

But also, don't let up. Continue exerting your Jewish influence on your children through college, through adulthood, even when they're married and have children of their own. Because the Mitzvah of V'Shinantam L'vanecha - Teach these words
diligently to your children, the words of the Shma Yisrael which are inscribed in the mezuzahs of all of our homes, has no end.”

And then, I ask the confirmants and their families to rise. Most of our confirmants are going off to college. All are starting off on the journey towards independence
and adulthood. So we offer this beracha for them:

Misheberach Avotenu Avraham, Yitzchak v’Ya’akov, Sarah, Rivka, Rachel v’Leah;

May God who blessed our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, bless these confirmants, our children, as they embark on this significant and transforming journey.

Give them strength to meet the challenges which lie ahead and the wisdom to choose well at every junction. May their heritage and tradition be the sign posts which guide them on their way. Give them the courage to ask questions, seek knowledge and better our world. "Lekh lekha me-artzecha - Go forth from your land," God told Abraham, "Go forth from your native land, from your father's
house, to the land which I will show you...va-avarkheka...and I will bless you." May, you, too, always feel God's sheltering presence.

And then I say to them:

Sarah, Benji, Tal, Jenny, Josh, Leah, Daniel, Michael Shadrin, Michael Tuck, Willie, Bret, and Carmi,; We, your parents, your teachers, your community, have given you roots and wings. Take them, with our love, and use them well.

And then I ask the parents, to please join me in placing their hands on their children’s heads, and blessing them, repeating after me:
Yivarechecha….

May God bless you and protect you.
May God show you favor and be gracious to you.
May God show you kindness and grant you peace.

By this time, there’s not a dry eye in the house.

And then, with great joy, and with gratitude to God for keeping us in life, and sustaining us, and allowing us to reach this occasion, I invite graduating seniors- our confirmants, and their families, to recite the shehechiyanu blessing.

And this is why I love my job.
Eliezer Havivi