Three years ago I celebrated my Bat Mitzvah. As I was born in the month of Adar, I decided to celebrate my Bat Mitzvah on Purim. For about a year prior to my Bat Mitzvah, my family’s good friend, and the baal kore of our shul, Bernie Horowitz, taught me to layen Megillat Esther. I worked very hard at it, going to his house after school, and even practicing while at summer camp. The megilla I read from was a special present my parents decided to give me for the occasion. We met with a sofer in our neighborhood and discussed with him different designs we wanted incorporated in the megilla. It is filled with different symbolic and colored pictures related to my name, my family, and Purim. At the end of the megilla there is a family tree starting with my grandparents. We also added on extra parchment so that hopefully more names can be added on when I pass the megilla down to my daughter.

In addition to layning the megilla for both men and women, I also layned three aliyot for Purim day in a Women’s Tefilla. Following the service we had a party to which everyone came in costume, including adults. The party was a lot of fun, with a lot of dancing. Looking back on my Bat Mitzvah, I feel extremely proud of being able to acquire the skill it took to layen the megilla. It is something I can do for the rest of my life, and can hopefully teach to others one day. My Bat Mitzvah was special to me because my whole family took part in it. It was more than a party; it was a religious event with spiritual significance and personal meaning to me.