Title: Phenomenal Insights about Bar Mitzvah and Tefillin
By: Rabbi Yehoshua Alt
176 pages
What does it mean to be a bar mitzvah? How does one keep up the momentum long after reaching the age of 13? What are a girl’s obligations when she becomes a bat mitzvah? These questions and more are thoroughly explored and answered in the newest book by Rabbi Yehoshua Alt. Phenomenal Insights about Bar Mitzvah and Tefillin gathers insights from throughout the Torah to present more than 50 engaging essays on the significance of bar mitzvah and tefillin. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book is suitable for Jews of all ages, and would especially make a wonderful bar mitzvah present. The insights provided, including the source of the bar mitzvah “pshetel” (speech), can be a valuable resource for bar mitzvah boys, parents, and rabbanim alike.
The book also features inspiring stories such as that of a man approaching the age of 105 who decided to put on tefillin for the very first time, inspiring a pre-med student to begin as well. As the student put it: “If a man can begin putting on tefillin at 105, why shouldn’t I start now? Why wait until I’m 105?” We also learn what happens to a boy’s soul when he becomes bar mitzvah. For some people, the significance of the milestone might only be revealed later. Still, it is always worthwhile to prepare beforehand if possible. This book allows one to do just that.
A bar mitzvah celebrates a young man becoming obligated in keeping the Torah and mitzvos. A bat mitzvah is the equivalent of a bar mitzvah for a girl. While a boy is obligated in mitzvos at 13 years old, a girl becomes obligated at 12 years old. The mitzvos that a boy is obligated in are more recognizable, such as going to minyan. Writing in 19th-century Iraq, the Ben Ish Chai said that while we don’t make a bat mitzvah seudah, there is a simcha in accepting the mitzvos. The occasion today, though, is different from what it was 100 years ago. There are differences in opinion as to a meal for a bat mitzvah: Does it constitute a seudas mitzvah? The Seridei Aish said that a bat mitzvah celebration is to encourage girls to be excited about keeping mitzvos. As outside influences permeate, it is important to fight back with education and get girls excited about Jewish education.
As Rabbi Alt explains, women are included in kedusha along with men in many areas; this includes Kabbalas HaTorah where Hashem instructs Moshe to say “l’Beis Yaakov” (to the House of Yaakov), which Rashi says refers specifically to women (Shemos 19:3). Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, explains that women being exempt from tefillin is a leniency that Hashem established. Through this lens, we see that women are not lessened by halacha; rather, their pathway affirms that for them, kedusha is expressed in a different way than for men.
Bar mitzvah is a stage a boy reaches in life whether or not he is called up for an aliyah, has a party, or gets presents. Celebrating with friends and family helps encourage boys to appreciate their status as a bar mitzvah. If one did not have a formal bar mitzvah ceremony at the age of 13, and then found their way to religious observance later in life, it is never too late to mark the occasion. It certainly is cause for celebration.
The Brisker Rav’s son was born at 3:00 in the morning. When he was bar mitzvah, his father woke him up at 3:00 in the morning. Obviously, we hold that the day of a bar mitzvah marks the time a boy becomes a bar mitzvah, but the Brisker Rav saw fit to remind his son of the significance of this at the time he was born.
The book explains that when a boy becomes bar mitzvah, profound spiritual effects are set into motion. When Rabbi Elazar became bar mitzvah, his father, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, described the celestial holy soul that came to Rabbi Elazar, and that reaches every boy, when they turn 13. From this point on, his actions have the power to create malachim, as the Mishna in Avos tells us that one who fulfills a mitzvah acquires an advocate, while he who commits a transgression acquires against himself an accuser – both of which are angels. In other words, our actions create angelic defenders born from mitzvos, and, conversely, prosecuting angels brought into being by sin. We also know that once a boy reaches bar mitzvah age, he is counted toward a minyan, something even malachim cannot do. There can be nine men in a room but without a young man of 13 years of age, there is no minyan. Suddenly he shows up and the Shechinah rests.
The question remains: How does one sustain the excitement and inspiration of becoming bar mitzvah, especially when a person starts working and is out of the confines of formal learning? The answer lies in continued growth: establishing a regular learning schedule, giving maser, treating employees and coworkers kindly…. Learning about mitzvos and the reasoning behind them will transform the bar or bat mitzvah experience into a lifelong journey.
Phenomenal Insights about Bar Mitzvah and Tefillin is an excellent resource for bar mitzvah drashos. Generally, a bar mitzvah speech is prepared for the boy, who may feel nervous delivering it. However, when a boy develops questions of his own and shapes them into a drasha, he forms a deeper personal connection to becoming a bar mitzvah and it gives the speech greater meaning and authenticity. This book will help the bar mitzvah bachur do just that.
It also delves into the significance of tefillin, which has been demonstrated throughout our history, even under the harshest circumstances. One Holocaust survivor recalled seeing a long line in a concentration camp. Normally such lines meant food, but this line was for putting on tefillin. One person stood guard to make sure there were no Nazis coming as each person quickly said Shema and passed the tefillin to the next person. Instead of waiting in line for food, these people were yearning for spiritual nourishment. In this way, the prophecy in Amos (8:11) was fulfilled: “Behold, days are coming, says Hashem, and I will send famine into the land – not a famine for bread nor a thirst for water, but to hear the word of Hashem.”
Chazal teach that tefillin possess remarkable spiritual potency. The Gemara in Brachos teaches that wearing tefillin brings long life. The Gemara also teaches that when a person puts tefillin on his head, he projects fear in our enemies. A bar mitzvah boy possesses this power. Before the Six-Day War started, the Lubavitcher Rebbe told his followers across the world to go out to the streets and offer Jewish men and boys the opportunity to don tefillin, as this would help ensure Divine protection against the grave threats facing Eretz Yisrael from its enemies. And after the Israelis were victorious, Ariel Sharon himself put on tefillin.
Rabbi Alt, who has written thousands of Torah articles and is the author of 12 books, is passionate about inspiring Jews of all levels of observance. In this book, he offers profound and inspiring insights into what it means to wear tefillin daily, to take responsibility for our actions, and to conquer our evil inclination. The book makes a meaningful gift for “b’nei mitzvah” of all ages.
To request Rabbi Alt’s free weekly Fascinating Insights parsha sheet, please send an email to yalt3285@gmail.com. Rabbi Alt can also be reached via WhatsApp at +972 54 849 5217.