Monday, July 21, 2014

A closer look at a bar mitzvah

GWell today I went back to the Jewish quarter every Tuesday starting at eight in the morning until almost noon, is a nonstop parade of bar mitzvahs celebrating 15-year-old Jewish boy'sentry into manhood. Similar to our confirmation, I guess...

 It starts outside the gate of the Jewish quarter, I believe it's the Lions gate, there - a small band similar to mariachis or tamborazos, but I guess you could call them "Jewish mariachis" welcome the family and the boy and start singing very lively folk/ religious songs ( I am no expert on what I saw ) 

  
 At some point, the boy is hoisted on somebody's shoulder's ( padrino?)... Placed under the small tent and begins going up to Jerusalem.....


I've got live footage, but not sure how to import it here...

Then they put the boy down ( they've got to go through security checkpoint.....)... Ans sing some more songs, dance in a circle and finish with the blowing of the shofar (?).  Ram's horn or something larger.... Then they put the two horns up to the boys head .... ( your guess would be better than mine) 



 

Once inside the wall area.... Woman on their side, men on their's and transgendered....u decide.

  Women ( do they wail louder?)...most of these are mommies and aunts waiting to see what follows next..... Wait for it....

  Men over here and on this day only! There appears a portable - actually two-  ark of the covenants. ( mini replicas )... 
 There is one! And the young man, for the first time will enter the ark, take out the Torah - scroll- and carry it over to the umbrella area ( the frontier between men and women - so MOM CAN SEE AND HEAR, little Ronnie read for the first time from the Torah!

 

  And when all is done we move outside the segregated wall area but still close enough for a family photo with the wall as a backdrop...