September marked another start of the school year. Noah started his sophomore year of high school and Aden is now a seventh grader. Below is their mandatory first day of school photo.
October is also a busy month for the Chorney household. We have two big birthdays to celebrate – Noah turns 16 and Aden turns 13. How did that happen and how old does that make me??? In the Jewish religion, when a boy turns 13 he is considered an “adult” in the Jewish faith and this milestone is celebrated with a Bar Mitzvah. In preparation for this occasion he has learned to read Hebrew, chant torah, recite prayers and regularly attended Shabbat services. He is also required to complete a mitzvah project, a social-action project that teaches him about responsibility and giving-back to others. As part of that initiative we have begun to volunteer at the Branford Community Dining Room.
The celebration itself starts in the Synagogue where Aden will lead the two-hour service, putting his Hebrew school education to use in front of his friends and family, including delivering a speech reflecting on what the process has meant to him. The day ends with a fun party to acknowledge all of his hard work and let loose with his friends. In retrospect, (not on Sunday mornings when they had to get up early for Hebrew School) the boys would agree that they learned a lot about their faith and themselves through the experience. I will have plenty of pictures to share at the end of the month!
