Casey Meyerowitz -Dvar Torah

My portion is called Lech Lecha and is about the promises and responsibilities God provided.

God changed Avram's name to Avraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. Through these name changes, God provided Abraham and Sarah with new beginnings, new hope, and a new journey. Today I am also going through a change, just like Abraham and Sarah. Today I have become a man and begin a new journey in my life. Today I become responsible for performing mitzvot, and I will be accountable for my own actions. These are connected to the values that I have inherited from my family and from my Jewish education - values like being kind, being honest and being a good friend.

While I learned my portion I started to wonder why names are so important.

Our names are an important part of our identity. They carry personal, cultural, and historical connections. They also give us a sense of who we are, the communities we belong to, and our place in the world.

I inherited the name Casey Levi Meyerowitz; Casey means "warrior and

strength" and Levi means "united". If you put these two words together, they mean "Unity and Strength" - to me this represents family and community, and without the support of my family, friends, Rabbi Greg and Cailyn, my Barmi teacher, I wouldn't have been ready for this big day in my life. My Hebrew name is Levi which is the tribe that was responsible for looking after the Temple. This is my spiritual side.

Thank you everyone for being here today as I begin the journey of my Jewish adulthood.

Shabbat Shalom