The Thirteenth Rail

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Joanne Freeman: Many religious Jewish boys and girls know what the number 13 means. It means they become an adult in the eyes of a Jewish congregation. The main event at a Bar Mitzvah for boys or a Bat Mitzvah for girls is a reading from the Torah chanted in Hebrew. Brian previously spoke to Megan [Dwyer 00:13:51] Ryan, the archivist for nearly a decade at historic Boston Synagogue Temple Israel. It’s the largest reform congregation in New England founded in 1854 by German speaking Jews. Dwyer Ryan started by telling Brian about the challenges of preparing for a Bar Mitzvah in the mid 19th century,

Megan Dwyer: Boys would have Bar Mitzvah training in the home of the [Hassan 00:14:14] at the time or the reader. And both boys and girls attended religious school classes at the synagogue itself about three days a week. And they learned everything from Hebrew and scripture, Jewish history, and various other kinds of topics. And they learned those topics both in German and in English.

Brian: But congregants at Temple Israel worried that the American born kids would resent and even reject these old world traditions. They were even more afraid that kids would Judaism altogether. So like other reformed synagogues in the US, they decided to Americanize some of their religious practices. They had sermons in English, they installed in Oregon gasp, created a choir, and let men and women sit side by side rather than in separate sections. In 1874, Temple Israel hired a rabbi named [Salomon Schindler 00:15:15] who made even more changes.

Megan Dwyer: And one of those measures was the discontinuation of Bar Mitzvah for boys and instead…

Brian: Hold on. I thought the Bar Mitzvah was such a big deal.Isn’t that touching the 13th rail?

Megan Dwyer: It is too. For many Jews at the time it was a very controversial issue, and in fac the board of trustees was not too happy with Schindler when he made this executive decision to discontinue Bar Mitzvah, but they went along with it. They sort of voiced their objections and then just kind of said, “Okay, well go on. Continue.” So it’s not that-

Brian: So wait. Wait. Megan.

Megan Dwyer: Yes.

Brian: Megan, who was first kid that got denied a Bar Mitzvah?

Megan Dwyer: I’m not sure really. What they did instead was they adopted a confirmation service and-

Brian: I see.

Megan Dwyer: … this was a practice that was open to both boys and girls. And it was kind of in line with other reform measures. At the time, many Jews decided that the way to Americanize was to adopt some, I guess you could call them, Protestant kind of practices, and confirmation was one of those practices.

Brian: And I just have to ask a little bit about this confirmation because I was Bar Mitzvah’d and I had to do the Haftarah and it was really hard to learn how to chant that passage from the Torah in Hebrew with all of those very seriously observing Jewish people around me. Was there anything like that in the confirmation? I just want to make sure that these kids weren’t getting off easy.

Megan Dwyer: Yeah. To disappoint you, yes, they were getting off easy, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th century. One of the reasons why the congregation adopted confirmation was that they realized fewer children were learning Hebrew. It wasn’t considered as important, particularly for reformed Jews. In fact, in the classical reform period, which had its height again, late 19th, early 20th century, many other branches of Judaism considered reformed Jews to be Jews in name only. And Temple Israel kind of adopted some of those practices that were questionable, to say the least, such as having services on Sundays as opposed to a Saturdays.

Brian: Yes. That sounds somewhat questionable.

Megan Dwyer: Yeah.

Brian: So when did they get back to doing Bar Mitzvahs and why did that come about?

Megan Dwyer: Well, in many ways, they were among the wealthiest Jews in the city, the most Americanized Jews. They were the leaders in many ways. They were the German Jewish synagogue, but into the 20s, 30s and into the 40s, the membership was changing slightly. You had Jews of eastern European descent and more traditional backgrounds joining the synagogue. And in fact, one of the things that made Temple Israel sort of change back, sort of the pendulum swinging back the other way, was the hiring of rabbi Joshua [Loth Liebman 00:18:42]. And so he brought back a lot of sort of traditions that were considered more conservative in nature. So things like having an a Friday evening Shabbat service, he got rid of the Sunday service, having candles at services, and bringing back the Bar Mitzvah.

Megan Dwyer: So in 1941, Bar Mitzvah was again celebrated at Temple Israel. And he also, the previous year, made it mandatory for all students to learn Hebrew again. So those practices were back and again, it was sort of in keeping with trends in reformed Judaism. And what was interesting too was they continued to perform the confirmation service. They kind of saw it as Bar Mitzvah would happen at age 13. Kids would keep going to school. It was a way to sort of keep them going to learn more about their faith. And then at age 16, they would have their confirmation service.

Brian: Now this is a period, if I understand correctly, that girls started having Bat Mitzvahs in greater numbers. How does that square with the rabbis’ emphasis on tradition?

Megan Dwyer: Yes.

Brian: Or was it not the case at Temple Israel?

Megan Dwyer: Temple Israel is actually fairly late in adopting the Bat Mitzvah ceremony. The first Bat Mitzvah wasn’t… or it didn’t happen until 1956, and they were three that year, whereas the first Bat Mitzvah in the United States occurred in 1922. So for Temple Israel-

Brian: So quite a long time.

Megan Dwyer: And by that point it was just kind of seen as time. It wasn’t necessarily that it was controversial by that point. Girls just kind of… they started doing it and there really wasn’t that much controversy by that point.

Brian: I’m guessing the 13 year olds and adults have a different definition of what it means to be 13.

Megan Dwyer: Very much so. Yeah, for kids, I think, they kind of go throughout their religious education, preparing for and thinking about the Bat Mitzvah and thinking, “Oh, great, now I’m done.” But for the rabbis, for the religious educators, they’re thinking, “Nope, nope, this is just the beginning.”

Brian: So Bar Mitzvah, at least today, is less about becoming an adult and more about marking a very important transition.

Megan Dwyer: Yes, I’d say so. Yeah, I mean it’s certainly. I don’t think anybody would call a 13 year old an adult.

Brian: They would.

Megan Dwyer: They would. Yes, they would. And I think these are kids and for them, I think it’s an important milestone, but it also means a really great party.

Brian: Megan, I have to tell you that when I was Bar Mitzvah’d, for a boy, the pen and pencil set was very much the thing. What is the quintessential Bar or Bat Mitzvah gift these days?

Megan Dwyer: I’d have to say money, at this point.

Brian: Always in style. I’m sure they rush out and buy a pen and pencil set.

Megan Dwyer: Oh, of course, yes. Or maybe a computer or an iPad.

Joanne Freeman: Megan Dwyer Ryan is coauthor with Susan Porter and Lisa [Fagan 00:22:15] Davis of Becoming American Jews, Temple Israel of Boston.