The Coming of Age in the Jewish Tradition Essay Example for Free

The Coming of Age in the Jewish Tradition Essay My Bar Mitzvah will be taking place on my 13th Birthday, 27th of January 2002. I would like to invite you to the ceremony in my local Synagogue. The ceremony is held on the first Shabbat after my birthday, this will be the 2nd of February. Shabbat starts on Friday evening at sunset and it finishes on Saturday night when the stars appear, we rest on Shabbat we devote ourselves to prayer at the Torah study, it is a family time. Bar Mitzvah means son of the commandments. I will be exactly Bar Mitzvah on the 27th as soon as I wake up. From then on I will be an adult in the Jewish community, I will take responsibility for my own actions where my Father used to, and I make a commitment to my faith. I will enter a covenant relationship with God, both as an individual and as a part of the Jewish community. When we are Bar Mitzvah we will be able to form a minyan, which is the required 10 men needed present in a Synagogue before prayers can be read. In preparation for the ceremony I will have to: Go to classes to learn to read and chant the Torah in Hebrew, what it says and why it is important. Hebrew is especially hard to learn because it is written from right to left and there are no spaces, punctuation or vowels! I will learn how to put on my tefillin and tallit. The tefillin are special boxes Jews wear when praying they contain pieces of parchment with prayers written on them. They are worn on the head and arm because the arm is close to the heart and the head is closer to my thoughts and feelings. And the tallit is a prayer robe worm during morning prayers. It is a four-cornered square of white cloth worn over the head and shoulders and has tassels called tizits, although they will not be worn at Bar Mitzvah as it is a Shabbat and they arent worn then. I have to learn what the mitzvot are and how they are to be kept. They are the 613 commandments; the 10 commandments known in Christianity are included also. I also have to learn to observe the fast says and festivals of my religion and what they mean. I learn these things because they are necessary to teach me about my religion and to make me understand its origins correctly. I learn them from my parents, not only from direct teaching but also from example, they create an environment for Jewish living for me to learn everything. During the ceremony held in the Synagogue I will recite a blessing from the Torah. My Rabbi is testing me on it. I have to practice the blessing and pass my test before I can recite it at the ceremony. I am also going to read all of the Sidra for that Shabbat, this means a portion of the Torah that would have been read at that Shabbat. My Father will recite Baruch Shepatarani. This reads: Blessed be he who has freed me from the responsibility for this child. And also, my Rabbit will then give a sermon, he speaks to me about the new obligations I will have and I will then give a speech. I have invited many people to my Bar Mitzvah, friends and family, including my little sister Marie, who is very excited, as she will be Bat Mitzvah in two years. Bat Mitzvah is the same as Bar Mitzvah except it is on her 12th birthday as girls mature earlier than boys do. It has not always been marked as a ceremony and is always sometimes on Shabbat. She will receive Jewish books and gifts and will recite a section of the Torah, as I will. Some Jews are unhappy with making any difference between the Jewish responsibilities of boys and girls. They hold Bat Mitzvah ceremony much like the boys Bar Mitzvah, usually when the girl is 13 as well. Order of the Service The service will be held in a special order, I thought you should know what will happen. * The Rabbi will read first * A relative or a friend will read (we havent decided who yet!) * Everyone recites the Shema. * The Amidah prayer is said silently by everyone * The Torah scroll is brought out of the Ark and placed on the Bimah. * A blessing is recited over it by me, I will be wearing my Tallit and Yarmulke * Then I will chant the days section from the Torah. * I might chant a section from the Prophets. * My Father says the Baruch Shepataraini. * All say prayers for the Queen of Israel, while scrolls are replaced in the Ark. * The Amidah prayer is said again. * The Kaddish prayer is said (for the recently bereaved) * The Aleynu (prayer of adoration) * Last is the Hymn of Glory The Shema is the most important Jewish prayer. The Ark is the most important part of the Synagogue; the Torah scrolls (Sefer Torah) are kept inside. They have to be read with a tool called a Yad, so the Torah is not touched with hands. After the ceremony n the Synagogue hall straight after the service there is a small celebration, tea and biscuits will be served. Later on there is a large banquet, some people think there is too much emphasis put on the banquet and that more should be put on the Synagogue ceremony, Rabbis think this especially. During the banquet I will deliver another speech to my friends and relatives. The Rabbi will choose the topic of my speech. I will receive presents off my friends and family, but the most important will be the Jewish holy books, because I will keep them forever and pray and worship off them. I hope you can come to my ceremony, I would love to see you there.

Those Winter Sundays :: essays research papers

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden is a poem about a how the author is recalling how his father would wake up early on Sundays, a day which is usually a reserved as a day of rest by many, to fix a fire for his family. The mood of this poem is a bit sad. It portrays a father, who deeply cares for his family but doesn't seem to show it by emotions, words, or touching. It also describes a home that isn't very warm in feelings as well as the title" Those Winter Sundays" The author describes the father as being a hard worker, in the line "†¦with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday†¦", but still even on Sundays--the day of rest, the father works at home to make sure the house is warm for his family. The "blueblack cold described in the poem is now warmed by a father's love. This poem describes the author reminiscing what did not seem obvious at the time, the great love of his father, and the author's regretting to thank his father for all that he did. "Sex without Love" is a poem by Sharon Old, who states in the opening line "How do they do it, the ones who make love without love?" It starts out with judging those, who have sex outside of having feeling for one another. It describes the sex in the third line as without feeling more as a techniques, which is describe "beautiful as dancers.. over each other like ice skaters." Sex without love to the author is described more as an act, which is performed instead of two people in love, who sex is in love not because of the act but instead of the love of the person. The author seems to climax in the literal sense at line nine : come to the Come to the †¦ then God comes in picture after the act is done. Judgment and sin is the mood of this poem of how two people can commit an act of a heart and soul without disappointed God. "Schizophrenia", the poem by Jim Stevens is a poem that begins the opening with "It was the house that suffered most" . Most how think about how difficult it would be for the member of a family dealing with a family member, who has the condition of Schizophrenia.

Life vs. Death Penalty

The death penalty has been one of the most debated topics in America for years. It holds the same level of importance in politics as abortion or gun control because it is such a controversial subject. The stance that I currently hold with this debate is closer towards life in prison. Not because I don't fully believe that someone who kills a lot of people or does Just horrible acts should 100% be punished and possibly killed themselves, but because I find more benefits towards keeping someone in Jail for life. For example, the cost to keep someone in Jail is a lot cheaper than it is to kill them.A study in 2011 showed that it cost California more than $4 billion dollars to do executions since 1978. $1. 94 billion went towards the trails, $925 million towards Automatic Appeals and State Habeas Corpus Petitions, $775 million towards Federal Habeas Corpus Appeals, and $1 billion went towards Costs of Incarceration. And we can't forget how much it costs to pay for the security guards who look over these inmates. The total cost to pay these security guards a year comes up to $90,000 PER INMATE a year. It's also been said that the death penalty trails are 20 times more expensive than a trail for imprisonment without parole.If the Governor of California sentenced the inmates that are on death row to life in prison he could save almost $170 million a year! The Executive of the DPIC stated, â€Å"The death penalty in the U. S. is an enormously expensive and wasteful program with no clear benefits. All of the studies on the cost of capital punishment conclude it is much more expensive than a system with life sentences as the maximum penalty. In a time of painful budget utbacks, states are pouring money into a system that results in a declining number of death sentences and executions that are almost exclusively carried out in Just one area of the country.As many states face further deficits, it is an appropriate time to consider whether maintaining the costly death pena lty system is being smart on crime. † Another reason that life in Jail is a better punishment is because it is an actual effective punishment. There is nothing that shows that the death penalty has been effective in lowering crimes. To be in a prison cell for your entire life with nothing to o but think, sit, sleep, eat, and maybe a recreational activity or two, that is actually worse than death.Being in prison sends some people crazy or can possibly change them completely, which I believe is a way better punishment because they are forced to live with the crime that they committed. Death would be an easy and quick way out. Granted, the death row inmates are doing nothing but sitting, thinking, and waiting. That is what they are doing, waiting. They are waiting for the end, because they, unlike the other inmates, have an end. And honestly how is that fair, we for hatever reason think that if we kill them that will teach them and others like them to never commit the bad acts ag ain, when in fact we are making it simple for them.The DPIC executive said, â€Å"The nation's police chiefs rank the death penalty last in their priorities for effective crime reduction. The officers do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder, and they rate it as one of most inefficient uses ot taxpayer dollars in tgnting crime. Criminologists concur that the death penalty does not effectively reduce the number of murders. † The death sentence is absolute, here is no reversing it so if we execute someone and more evidence comes up that later proves someone innocent, we can't take back the execution. 40 people were wrongly executed since 1973. The most common reason for people wrongfully being charged with the death penalty are false confessions, witness errors, government misconduct, faulty science, bad lawyers or snitch testimonies. Also believe it or not but race does play a factor in whether or not someone can receive the death penalty vs. life in pris on. Just about 68% of inmates that are on death row are non-whites. We simply cannot say we live in a country that offers equal Justice to all Americans when racial disparities plague the system by which our society imposes the ultimate punishment. Senator Russ Feingold, 2003. In 1990, a report from the General Accounting Office said that 82% of the cases that were reviewed showed that if the criminal killed a white person they were more likely to be sent to death row than if they killed another minority. There are currently 1,822 minority inmates on death row and there has been approximately 394 minorities executed since 1976, comparing his to the 1,475 white death row inmates and the 643 that have been executed.Something interesting is the death rate by homicide in California varies sole by race. African Americans are six times more likely to be murdered than whites in California. While 27. 6% of murder victims are white, 80% of executions in California have been for those convict ed of killing whites. Lastly, the death penalty is Just morally wrong. How do we as a country Justify that someone is being punished for murder or something of that sort and to correct/ punish this behavior we execute them. That is o backwards.America is a country that frowns upon other countries who don't value life but we don't really know how to back up that thinking because we are a country who grew up knowing to fix problems with violence. After George W. Bush stated in the 2000 presidential elections, â€Å"l don't think you should support the death penalty to seek revenge. I don't think that's right. I think the reason to support the death penalty is because it saves other people's lives† Family guy retaliated with, â€Å"l support the death penalty to teach people killing is wrong† Brian on Family Guy.When you think bout it, how does killing the inmate keep us any safer than Just keeping them in Jail forever? At the end of the day no one is being harmed, and ev eryone who is outside of prison is safe. The families of the victims can have peace of mind that they know the person will rot in prison and everyone else no longer has to even wonder if that person will come for them next. It's a win win situation. Until someone comes up with a plan that is more cost effective, humane, and still effectively punishes people for crimes the same or better than life in prison does, that seems to be the best way to handle criminals.

Essay -1776 by David McCullough - 900 Words

1776 by David McCullough â€Å"Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.† This quote in a letter to James Madison, from George Washington, on March 2nd, 1788, explains that once the push for liberty comes through and change is made, it is like the snowball effect. At this point of the war, there were constant losses for the Continental Army they were lacking faith and hope for their liberty. The soldier’s enlistments were also very near to their end and time was going by fast; many were prepared to leave and not signing up again. Overall, the Continental Army was headed towards failure. They needed something to give them a push in the right direction. The battle that raised high spirits in the army was The†¦show more content†¦That meant leaving as soon as their enlistments were finished and leaving Washington with fewer troops. Washington felt that he needed to have another battle while he still had many men and before the British troops retired for the season of winter until spring (McCullough 267). Since the battle happened towards the end of their session, the results of the battle highly affected the soldier’s decision to stay or leave. If it wasn’t for Trenton, there would never have been a reason to stay in the army and that would have affected the war in a negative way for the colonies. â€Å"Our only dependence now is upon the speedy enlistments of the army. If this fails, the game is pretty near up,† (McCullough 269). This quote by Lund Washington explains that the colonies needed as many soldiers and troops as possible to make their chances of succeeding better. Without the amount of troops that decided to stay because of the Battle of Trenton, Washington’s troops would have been significantly smaller and would have caused losses in battles. George Washington’s tactics and skills when it came to the Continental army and war were very helpful in the many battles that he led. In Trenton, Washing ton planned a sneak attack on the British, in which they had to cross the Delaware River on. Because of Washington’s quick thinking and great army skills allowed the Continental Army to succeed in surrounding all the Hessians in Trenton in an orchard, leaving them withShow MoreRelatedThe Book 1776 by David McCullough Essays1324 Words   |  6 Pageshave sought to spread the spirit of equality, which is believed to be the realization of true freedom. Before establishing this freedom, every American had only one question stuck in their head: What is freedom? Our country received it in the year of 1776 from the British through a series of difficulties and wars. African Americans defined it as an escape from slavery, while immigrants defined it as their acceptance into a new society. 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