Tonight we sat down to plan for our upcoming bas mitzva!
My dd turned twelve on Sukkos, but things were so busy that we decided to push off the actual party for a few days. However, due to delays in getting the place we wanted booked, it kept getting pushed off more and more. When there’s something that needs to be done, my general approach is to do it as soon as possible. The way I see it is, there’s always more to do and there’s usually not going to be a better time, so I might as well get things done as quickly as possible so they don’t cause mental clutter.
We originally were aiming for Saturday night but booking the location was getting too drawn out – we couldn’t get hold of them, and then when we did we had to call again and again, and then it wasn’t available for when we wanted it – and a few days ago we set the date for a week from now. A nice thing about switching to a Sunday evening is the set-up will be much easier, since we’ll have more time prior to when things begin to get everything done. It was worth waiting to be able to rent this place since it’s close to us, a very reasonable price, and has the space that we’ll need.
We wrote up a basic menu plan tonight, and that leaves the next five days to do the shopping, cooking, baking, and organizing. Dh will take care of the invitation either today or tomorrow – that sounds really late, I know, but apparently here it’s typical to give the invitations out just a few days before. We’re planning a slide show, buffet dinner, and music/dancing. I don’t know what to do about the bas mitzva speech that the girl usually gives – dd12 doesn’t speak Hebrew yet and her classmates don’t speak English, and a week is way too short a time for her to memorize it in Hebrew. This will be a much bigger crowd than either of my other girls had for their bas mitzva, since dd12 is in a class of 34, and she’s more hesitant about speaking publicly than either of them were. I’ll probably speak as well so I’ll have to find some time to put my thoughts together – I don’t mind speaking in Hebrew though I might make some grammatical mistakes but I would like my daughter to understand what I’m saying! So that’s something else that I have to think about how to handle.
Things are never quiet around here, but this week will be a bit busier than usual!
Avivah
All bnot mitsva girls I’ve ever seen read their speech from printed pages.. that should give your daughter the possibility to practice her speech and understand what she’s saying too, no? And you can say part of your speech in Hebrew and part in English, or give her a translation/sneak peak…and she should understand some basic Hebrew by now, no?
In any event, have a wonderful and meaningful celebration!
You’re right, she understands a lot more than I give her credit for – she pointed that out to me a couple of days ago! Since she doesn’t speak at all, I make the mistake of thinking that her comprehension isn’t that far ahead of her speaking skills, but that’s not the case.
Mazal Tov!
mazel tov!
Mazal Tov!
Besides the fact that most (all?) kids give their speeches from paper these days, I’ve also been at several events (bar and bat mitzvahs) where the child did not speak at all, only the parents (and sometimes others, such as grandparents/aunts/Rabbonim).
Or you could do some sort of Hebrew “subtitles” ie slides, to go with her speaking in English. Along with pictures, that could be really nice 🙂
Or you could have a “tag-team” where your daughter and someone else take turns reading her speech, one in English, one in Hebrew – a good friend, a cousin, a sibling…
I hope these ideas help a bit 🙂
Mazel tov!
I like the ideas from Louise. The point is that she should be pushed to speak Hebrew in front of her class mates before she is ready. From experience I know that could cause your daughter stress. It will take time and it should not be pushed.
Correction – She should NOT be pushed-sorry for that oops.