!

My Torah portion, Vayehshev, is from the book of genesis, chapter 40. This
chapter tells the tale of when Joseph was in an Egyptian prison and interpreted the
dreams of two other inmates; the Pharohs chief butler and chief baker, both whom had
been jailed. He first interprets the butlers dream, and predicts that he will be restored to
his former glory as head butler in three days. The baker, excited that his dream was
similar to the butlers, asks for Joseph to interpret his dream. Josephs prediction for the
baker was morbid, that he would be killed in three days, and that crows would eat him.
After the three days passed, both interpretations came true.
!
My portion teaches the lesson, Dont count your chickens before they hatch.
The butler had a good future interpreted from his dream, so the baker simply assumed
his dream would be good, too. However, when he had his dream interpreted, he ended
up dead.
!
This is an important lesson. It teaches us to always be prepared for the future,
and work hard to achieve your goals; things can change as quick as a blink of an eye if
you dont work for something you expect. Once, I tried to wake my sister, Jolie, up with
a vuvzela (You know, those annoying horns from the world cup that sound like bees?).
Days of planning had made me very excited to see her reaction. I waited for a day my
parents were both out, and thought she would have a good laugh about it, but I was
soooooo wrong. Getting grounded was NOT something I was counting on. (*PAUSE*)
!
But seriously, this lesson applies to more important things, like school. If you
think something is easy, and decide not to study, you may not get an A. You could
possibly fail! So dont count your chickens if they havent hatched yet; sometimes, you
just might not get what you wanted.
!
My Mitzvah Project is very important to me. In 1991, my dad donated bone
marrow to an anonymous leukemia patient. He went to the marrow drive in 1989 hoping
to match someone locally, but was very sad that he didnt. He agreed to be put on the
national registry, and was able to donate two years later. In October 1992, a year after
his donation, Dad received a letter from the patient. He revealed his name: Louis
Hammel. 21 years later, he is still alive. 21 more years he has had with his family. 21
more years with his then three-year-old son, who Louie got to see graduate college, get
a job and fall in love. And 21 more years with his wife. This taught me that it only takes
one person to make a difference. As such, I will be organizing and promoting a blood
drive with Swab-a-Cheek to try to get more people on the registry. Every addition to the
registry is another chance for someone to make a match.
!
Id like to thank a lot of people for helping me get here today. Id like to thank all
my Hebrew School teachers to date for teaching me Hebrew so I could read today. Id
like to thank my tutor, Mrs. Peres. I really couldnt have done it without you. Next, Id like
to thank Cantor Bortnik and Rabbi Lustig. Thanks so much for getting me ready and
helping me become a Bar Mitzvah today. Without you two, there would be no service!
Id like to thank my parents for motivating me and throwing me the awesome party were
about to go to. Without their reminders, I doubt I would have practiced, and if they
werent throwing me a party, many of us wouldnt be here! Id like to thank my sister for
not bothering me when I was practicing. My dog, Cosmo, for not eating any of the
prayers. And lastly, Id like to thank all of my friends and family for being here today to
support me. Thank you guys; it really means a lot to me for you to be here today..