Paul’s Bar Mitzvah: May 23, 2024
I met Paul at Petah Tikva on the morning of his bar mitzvah to capture this young man becoming, let’s say, a “real man” under Jewish law. His morning service was fantastic—he made everyone proud as he read from the Torah and delivered his d’var Torah with grace and confidence. And if I said the lunch that followed was spectacular, that would be an understatement. It was amazing! This congregation really knows how to throw a party. That was just the warm-up, the real celebration happened a few days later when I met up with the family at the Prosserman JJC on Bathurst near Sheppard. I took Paul and his sisters for a little walk, snapping photos as the late afternoon light gave us warmth and texture. This group is lively, to say the least. I’m sure Friday night dinners at their house are a celebration unto themselves! The kids had a blast in front of the camera, so much fun in fact, that we barely managed to get all the extended family and parent photos done before moving on to the schmoozing and party portion of the event. The food at the JCC was delicious, and guests enjoyed it thoroughly before heading into the main party space. Party Crew was ready to rock the house, and rock it they did. There were fun and games, toys, costumes, and more. The wild hora was everything you’d expect, and the speeches were warm and wonderful. Paul spoke beautifully and made us all proud. We limboed under the limbo stick, jumped rope, waved flags, and did just about every party activity imaginable… and then some. Way to go, guys! Fantastic party. Mazal Tov, Paul!
