Jonathan Levy writes:
My wife Nadine and I chose Congregation Or Ami as our Jewish Spiritual home for several reasons, including their personal approach to Bar/Bat Mitzvah and other life events. We recently beamed with pride at the Bat Mitzvah of our younger daughter Hannah and thought that everything from the preparations to the service itself was wonderful (just as it was with our older daughter Sarah a few years ago).
The Or Ami team – Rabbis, Cantor, Bat Mitzvah Teacher, and office staff – supported both of our daughters through the entire Bat Mitzvah journey from education and Torah training to personal reflection and speech writing, culminating with a meaningful and memorable “big day” for them as well as our family and friends.
We have attended many B’nai Mitzvah services at other Temples and we have always found those at Or Ami to be a beautiful blend of music and ritual. Our daughters “led” their community during the services with the sort of engagement, grace and command that left our souls nourished and fulfilled. Moments like these are why we chose Or Ami several years ago!
The preparations, while demanding, helped our daughters explore and strengthen their connection with Judaism and their Or Ami Jewish community. The opportunity to extend their religious school experiences and relationship with Rabbi Paul, Diane Townsend, Rabbi Julia and Cantor Doug – both at Temple as well as during their summers at Camp Newman – was much appreciated and ultimately is part of what has kept our daughters connected with Temple leading up to and beyond their B’not Mitzvah through our youth groups SOMPTY, LOMPTY, and NFTY. They say it takes a village to raise a child and we certainly feel that Congregation Or Ami is our village!
Jonathan Levy