Dvar Torah - Leah Urisohn

Dvar Torah: 

Shabbat Shalom Everyone. Thank you all for attending my bat mitzvah. Today I will be talking about my Torah portion, Bamidbar, the events that take place and what it is about. 

I will focus on themes of leadership and journeys from my portion. Bamidbar talks about the journey of the Israelites from Mount Sinai to The Promised Land. In Bamidbar, we learn about the leadership of  Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, along with the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. During this journey, they were assisted by the Levites, who maintained and carried the Tabernacle.

I relate to the theme of leadership in my Torah portion by acknowledging and understanding the role that leaders play in my life and journey, such as my parents, my brother, Lyle, my maddies at Netzer, and also Dani Beswick and Rabbi Greg for guiding me through my bat mitzvah learning.

Another person that inspires me is Gal Gadot because in difficult times, she has the courage and the confidence to stand up and tell the world proudly exactly who and what she is, as I am doing today as bat mitzvah.

For me, I am just starting out the journey of growing up and Jewish life. I’m beginning my path to adulthood, knowing that it won’t be easy, but understanding that I have my leaders to guide me. Perhaps one day, I might become a leader and also guide and help others.

My Mitzvah:

For my mitzvah, I did a beach cleanup at Milnerton Beach, taking some friends with me to help. I chose this particular mitzvah because it concerns me to see all the trash and random litter scattered around the beach. I think we should all make an effort to fix our world and make it a better place for not just ourselves, but for everyone. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted”, a famous quote to describe my mitzvah. It reminds us that all good deeds, no matter how small, can have a lasting impact. 

I want to say thank you to all those here today, but a special thank you to my family and friends who have traveled from afar to join us, namely the Grossmans and the Jacobsons. Shabbat Shalom everybody.