Begin Again

Rav Hirsch’s insight directs us in celebrating our children’s entry into “ol mitzvos”

“If a man has a wayward and rebellious son, who does not obey his father or mother…”

(Devarim 21:18)

With the proliferation of baalei teshuvah that have blessed our communities, it’s hard to swallow the absolute certainty with which the Torah tells us that the ben sorer

u’moreh, the rebellious son, will grow to become a thief and murderer, and that beis din is therefore commanded to execute him to avoid these heinous crimes. How can we be sure he’ll never repent? Furthermore, if the ben sorer u’moreh never was and never will be, what are we to learn from the Torah’s “pessimism”? (Rav Yaakov Neuberger, The TorahWeb Foundation)

Repetition is boring, no? So I should’ve been bored that evening of my third son’s bar mitzvah. Been there, done that. Bought the hat, hemmed the suit, picked the tie.

Yet despite the similar circumstances and the predictable dress code, it was anything but boredom that sent me dancing to his room to check on him — my new little man.

He straightened his hat and I adjusted his tie. My heart tightened inside my chest as my love for him welled up and threatened to overflow in tears. He was so beautiful. No longer my little boy, he was a man poised on the cusp of a momentous milestone. I reached out and hugged that precious little body tightly; for just a moment longer he was still my baby.

Then, clearing my throat, I checked my watch and began rounding up the troops. “We’re going to be late. Where’s your sister? Let’s go!” Like a sheepdog, I herded everyone out. We’ve done this before — all in a day’s work, right? No.