Y
OUR PALMS are sweaty.

But in the end, it teaches the students “when you put your mind to
Knees weak, arms are heavy.

something, you can do it.”
No, you’re not Eminem; you’re a probably-a-little-bit-nervous
For Senior Rabbi Lance J. Sussman of Reform Congregation Ke-
13-year-old about to give your speech at your Bar or Bat Mitzvah.

neseth Israel, there are five elements to a good d’var Torah.

Going in front of an audience and giving a speech can be daunt-
“The speech demonstrates to the student, their family and the congrega-
ing. But with the right guidance, you can deliver a d’var Torah that tion they’ve invited that they understand what they’re reading, that they’re
is thought-provoking and personalized.

able to explain it and interpret it, that it means something to them,” he said.

When it came time for the October 2017 Bar Mitzvah of her son, Josh “I find that people do listen. It’s one of the only parts of a service where the
Krain Sasson, Abbey Krain helped him
student is reading that’s not in the book, so
write his speech, as she had for her two
to speak, so people pay attention.”
other children. For her, it was important
And he coaches the students to be
that it not only included nuggets of wis-
“loud, slow and clear” so they don’t speed
dom he gleaned from his Torah portion
through it at “200 miles per hour.”
that he could impart on his audience, but
The synagogue clergy divvies up du-
also included bits of himself.

ties when working with students for their
His Bar Mitzvah fell during Sukkot,
Bar or Bat Mitzvahs. Sussman helps them
the holiday that focuses on the harvest
write their speeches, of which he has
and agriculture — a fitting holiday for
helped write more than 1,000. But for
Josh, as he is an avid gardener. In his
him, it’s fun because “every kid is different
speech, he tied in his Torah portion with
and every family is different.”
not only his mitzvah project — in which
He broke down d’var Torah elements:
he worked with the Jewish Farm School
MARISSA STERN | JE STAFF
and Philly Farm Crew — but also an an-
1. Citation.

He helps the student explore where their
cient Jewish fable in which two brothers
section of the parsha is found in the Torah, which
secretly deposited bits of their harvests to the oth-
book it appears in, what’s special about that week’s
er’s bounty to ensure they were well-fed until they
discovered it was his brother adding to the pile.

parsha, and questions like that.

Josh, however, changed the story in his speech
2. Summary.

to a brother and sister to allow the story to apply
The student summarizes the material they’re
to more than just two men. And he has a sister, so
reading and the context in which it appears in
it made it more personal, his mother added.

the parsha. Is it during Exodus? Is it during Abra-
“He spent really the bulk of it making it per-
ham’s journey in the Land of Canaan? Sussman
sonal and talking about the agricultural tie-in of
likened this part to a “mini book review” in which
Sukkot and his hobby of gardening,” said Krain,
the student gives an overall idea of the content.

executive director of Temple Sholom in Broomall,
“and how important it is in this day and age to
3. Theme.

realize there are actually people in our own back-
Josh Krain Sasson volunteers at an orchard “I ask the kids, ‘What do you think the Torah is
yard that don’t have enough food.”
teaching you?’ And this is interpretive; there’s no
His two older siblings also incorporated sto- with Teens 4 Good.

Photo provided
right or wrong,” Sussman explained. “There’s in-
ries in their speeches, which Krain said was a cool
teresting and very interesting. And this is where they might do a little
way to integrate ancient Jewish storytelling into today’s world.

For Krain, who does Bar and Bat Mitzvah tutoring, the impor- research into commentaries and Midrash and things like that.”
tance of the speech lies in the skills and lessons it teaches.

“One is the opportunity for the child to have a chance to both practice 4. Application.

and to do public speaking,” she said. “At that age, it helps with maturity Sussman asks the students to think about, “What does it mean to me?”
“I then ask them to think of situations in their own young lives or in
level and it gives the child — whatever level they’re at — a little confi-
dence their peers who don’t have a Bar Mitzvah don’t get the opportunity their family or something they’re deeply aware of and to make an appli-
to have because there are very little chances for public speaking like that cation of the Torah’s teaching to their own life and why that’s important.”
when you’re a 13-year-old.”
Another is the chance to connect more deeply with the text. While 5. A report on the mitzvah project. (This a bit self-explanatory.)
each Torah portion is “chock full” of information, the student has a The d’var Torah is one of three speeches the students give at KI, where
chance to take the bits they connect to and build on it in his or her speech. they lead the whole service for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. The first is a wel-
“Something else that’s important about the speech is actually the come statement, another is a statement of thanks given during the section
learning opportunity,” she said. “Sitting down with mom and dad or your in which prayers of thanks are recited. The third is the d’var Torah.

teacher or your rabbi, whoever it may be, and actually looking at the part
(And even though they aren’t leading the service, parents aren’t off the
and reading it and understanding it.”
hook. They give a short speech, too.)
It’s also a chance for the student to see what they can understand from
For the students, the d’var Torah is an obstacle to overcome — and
the ancient viewpoint and if they can bring it into today’s world, she said. they want to do it well.

“At the end of the day, they are putting themselves on display before
There are many lessons to be learned from the process of writing the
speech — namely, that once you write it, it isn’t quite done. They learn the their entire world,” Sussman said, “and even if takes a little work to get to
editing process and how to tweak their ideas into the finished product.

it, at the end of the day, all the kids want to do a good job on d’var Torah,
And of course, the biggest hurdle of all: delivering the speech.

and that helps them connect to the tradition, so it’s a win.” ❤
Josh worked with his rabbi at Tiferet Bet Israel to learn delivery tech-
niques and bring animation into his speech. At home, he would practice
mstern@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
these tools — often pontificating on their Ping-Pong table, Krain said.

SPEECHES Present Learning
Opportunity for Bar and Bat
Mitzvahs 26
MARCH 22, 2018
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