Saturday morning Kehilat Ra'anan was treated to a very special experience - a Bat Mitzvah ceremony for a girl from Europe whose family history tells the story of the plight of the Jew in modern times.

How this family found us is of interest of itself: A young women from Ra'anana was sent, by the Jewish Agency, to work with the Polish Jewish community. There she and her husband met a family who were thinking of having a Bat Mitzvah for their daughter in Israel. The mother has two brothers living in Ra'anana and a sister in Jerusalem. Why not have a Bat Mitzvah in Kehilat Ra'anan?

And so last summer Rabbi Tamar first met Voja and Bente.   

Born to a Norwegian Jewish mother and to a non Jewish Polish father, the family currently lives in Poland, in a small town called Vrozwav. Voja, the young lady, attends the Jewish school where most of the children are not Jewish but the education is excellent - being a private institution.

Voja's Grandfather, who escaped the war by being in Norway and still resides there, is one of the important figures in the Orthodox community of Oslo. He was very moved by the Bat Mitzvah and it was the first time he had been in a Reform synagogue and service. He was overwhelmed with the beauty of the ceremony, the depth of religiosity and the feeling that here were gathered Jews of every cloth to celebrate his Granddaughters Bat Mitzvah! He spoke of the need for Jews today to respect one another and to be able to pray together.

Many family members came to the Bat Mitvah - Jews and non Jews, and also many of Voja's school mates. For most of them this was a first time to Israel.

All of us - members of Kehilat Ra'anan and guests of the family, were very excited by this unusual gathering and by the sense of solidarity amongst us. And yes there were Jews of every kind praying together - secular. orthodox, and reform or conservative. It did not matter - our words were of the same cloth as were our intentions. We all enjoyed a wonderful kiddush luncheon and were continually amazed by the variety of backgrounds we shared - there were people from Norway, Poland, Germany and Israel.  

This was a show of  our testimony to the importance of keeping our traditions alive and vibrant for the next generation. As Voja said at the end of her Drasha (speech) - "I am a Jew and I want to keep on being a Jew. I love my traditions and will keep them forever".

We, parents, educators and Rabbis too, have to work hard to help Voja and others like her who are growing up in an open multi-cultural world, learn and grow up to feel that these traditions are beautiful and most of all - meaningful to life today, and hopefully tomorrow.

We, at Kehilat Ra'anan are proud and glad to be a place that enables us all to embrace our children and our traditions together.