Congrats on your podcast award. Woohoo!!!! I love this story of standing up the bullshit in public. I'm sure the Rabbi was measuring the value of stopping you (what he wanted to do) versus being seen forcing a 12-year-old girl to stop singing in front of his whole congregation. It's very cinematic, by the way!
Great piece Zel. Reminds of the ridiculousness of the Catholic religion. First Holy Communion-7 years old and you have to make your first confession—a dark box, coffin like, where a priest slides open a small window, the kind you might see in a speakeasy, so your seven year old self can confess all your affronts to God, so you can have the body of Christ—a dry paper thin cardboard like wafer—on your tongue for the first time. What does any 7 year old have to confess? Never did understand it. Also the girls and boys were dressed like brides and grooms. The girls were supposed to be marrying God, so I guess all the boys were God? Who the hell knows but dang do some of these rituals or traditions or religious sacraments do a good job at shaming children. I wish I had some fearlessness at that age because I would have run from that church and tore off my small wedding dress and veil and declared-"I don't want to be married to anyone and I certainly haven't done anything wrong." Ha!
My mother let it be known that my name would have been Wendy if I had been a girl. I never felt like a Wendy, but I thought about it at times. The Bar/Bat distinction was sad for girls. I did learn to read my Haftarah from the scroll. And I insisted on my own speech, not just the formulaic “Mad Libs” one. I made that speech and fantasy extension one of my first posts here, in which the Isley Brothers singing “Shout” are my backing group. “Now wait a minute…ooh!” Spoiler: My grandmother has a heart attack when she sees this, and my brother, named David, is crying, “you killed grandma,” but we were already tossing our kipas in the air and it was too late to stop.
Congrats on your podcast award. Woohoo!!!! I love this story of standing up the bullshit in public. I'm sure the Rabbi was measuring the value of stopping you (what he wanted to do) versus being seen forcing a 12-year-old girl to stop singing in front of his whole congregation. It's very cinematic, by the way!
Yes! I’d love to shoot this as a short film!
It'd be amazing!
Great piece Zel. Reminds of the ridiculousness of the Catholic religion. First Holy Communion-7 years old and you have to make your first confession—a dark box, coffin like, where a priest slides open a small window, the kind you might see in a speakeasy, so your seven year old self can confess all your affronts to God, so you can have the body of Christ—a dry paper thin cardboard like wafer—on your tongue for the first time. What does any 7 year old have to confess? Never did understand it. Also the girls and boys were dressed like brides and grooms. The girls were supposed to be marrying God, so I guess all the boys were God? Who the hell knows but dang do some of these rituals or traditions or religious sacraments do a good job at shaming children. I wish I had some fearlessness at that age because I would have run from that church and tore off my small wedding dress and veil and declared-"I don't want to be married to anyone and I certainly haven't done anything wrong." Ha!
Loved it!
Brava, Ellen - you really were fearless!
What a great story, I love it! You were fearless even then.
Love this so much!
My mother let it be known that my name would have been Wendy if I had been a girl. I never felt like a Wendy, but I thought about it at times. The Bar/Bat distinction was sad for girls. I did learn to read my Haftarah from the scroll. And I insisted on my own speech, not just the formulaic “Mad Libs” one. I made that speech and fantasy extension one of my first posts here, in which the Isley Brothers singing “Shout” are my backing group. “Now wait a minute…ooh!” Spoiler: My grandmother has a heart attack when she sees this, and my brother, named David, is crying, “you killed grandma,” but we were already tossing our kipas in the air and it was too late to stop.
you're making me really glad i didn't have to have a bat mitzvah.
So good !! Shabbat shalom!
Love this!