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Ann Smith is just one local woman who publicly became a bat mitzvah, or a full-fledged Jewish woman, while in middle age. Here, she wears a tallit, or prayer shawl, she wove herself in the Jewish Community Center’s weaving room.
PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER
Ann Smith never had any formal Hebrew-school training.
While her family was Jewish during her childhood, they didn’t attend synagogue very often.
Her interest in religious life changed, however, when she met her husband, Martin, and moved to Northeastern Pennsylvania from New York in 1982.
Being around her husband prompted Smith to publicly become a bat mitzvah, which means a full Jewish woman, at age 40.
“It’s not a question about how much knowledge you have; it’s really a question about motivation,” Smith said from her Laflin home, where she recently was busy preparing challah, a bread popular around the holidays in Jewish households. “I really try to encourage people.”
Smith undertook a two-year learning process, meeting with rabbis and studying Jewish sacred law, the Torah.
“It gave me a real understanding of Jewish life.”
While Smith’s coming-of-age ceremony took place a number of years ago, it’s not unusual for local women to have a desire to publicly become a bat mitzvah at an older age at any time now.
Temple Israel is even offering preparation classes, in which about 10 women are now enrolled.
“The ceremony of bar/bat mitzvah merely celebrates this coming of age publicly,” Rabbi Larry Kaplan of Temple Israel said. Kaplan reminds that according to Jewish law boys automatically become bar mitzvahs at age 13 and girls become bat mitzvahs at age 12.
“What we are doing is preparing them for the public celebration (with) the commensurate education and skills, which they did not receive when they were that age,” Kaplan said.
“Some of my family was certainly surprised because that had not been part of their world – to be involved formally in Jewish life,” explained Smith, who served as past president of Temple Israel from 2000-2002. “They were very excited I took this step.”
“I invited friends from all over the country.”
Rosemary Chromey of Wilkes-Barre had a similar experience.
“I got married, I converted, and I decided I wanted to wait 13 years just like a child has to wait 13 years,” said Chromey, who had a bat mitzvah celebration at age 50 in 2004 after receiving the necessary training.
“I had a very nice dinner party with about 20 close friends,” Chromey said, noting it was different than the children’s parties today, which are often fancy affairs at the Woodlands Inn & Resort.
As for the ceremonies, Smith said hers was just a normal synagogue service with her participating by doing some of the readings.
“You essentially lead part of the Sabbath service, and you read some of the prayers. You read part of the Bible in Hebrew,” she explained. “Then you just give a little speech about the meaning of it all.”
Smith says it’s a subject close to her heart – one that makes her husband happy, too.
“He was thrilled,” she recalled.