Called up to the Torah – at the age of 82!

“It’s a lovely little shul. When I mentioned to the other congregants in December that I was interested in having a bat mitzvah, everyone jumped on board with the idea.”

Chrissie Hassall and and Graham Berkman, Ba'al Tefillah at Peterborough Liberal Jewish Community (Photo: Progressive Judaism)[Missing Credit]

Chrissie was taught by fellow shul member and Ba’al Tefillah (prayer leader) Graham Berkman, learning to read Parashat Pinchas, which, says Chrissie, “was very suitable for me as it’s all about girls getting inheritance. When I was younger, I wasn’t allowed to apply for a mortgage without my ex-husband’s signature, and in those days, you also weren’t allowed to pay into a pension if you weren’t married.

“I’m not a feminist in any way, but when my generation was younger, things were very unequal. Therefore, the parashah felt very relevant to women like me as it's the only religion which recognises that women could inherit stuff.”

In terms of religious practice, Chrissie, who, after graduating from Glasgow, spent 40 years teaching domestic science in Africa, attending both the Progressive and Sephardi synagogues while living in Harare, says she “loves” going to Orthodox synagogues. “When you are leading a very busy life, it’s nice to be able to go into the women’s gallery, get a prayerbook and not have to be responsible for the running of the service”, but what she likes about Progressive services is that “women are full partners”.

Chrissie, whose son Gareth sadly died eight years ago and who has two “lovely” grandchildren, said that while her bat mitzvah itself was “a very happy occasion”, she hadn’t anticipated the amount of work involved in preparing for it. “Although I already knew how to read Hebrew, the idea of reading in front of people was very nerve-racking. Fortunately, Graham was amazingly patient as a teacher, and his wife, Janet, who is chair of the shul, was very encouraging.”

I would encourage anyone who didn’t have the chance to have a bar or bat mitzvah when they were a teenager to do it. You will learn a lot about yourself, a lot about your faith and a lot about your community

But it was absolutely worth the hard grind. “The atmosphere on the day was so lovely. My sister travelled from Italy and friends travelled from as far away as Hull and Northumberland.”

After reading from the Torah, Chrissie was presented with a cake made by a congregant with her Hebrew name, Ruth bat Avraham, iced onto it, as well as an anthology of poems, written by Holocaust survivor Lotte Kramer, who, at 101, is the oldest member of the Peterborough community. “Usually, you get a siddur on your bar or bat mitzvah, but I already have one, so all I really wanted was a book of Lotte’s poems. I was also given a bat mitzvah certificate, which I will treasure,” said Chrissie.

Asked what advice she would give someone who missed out on having a bar or bat mitzvah as a teenager but was considering undergoing the rite of passage in later life, she said: “I would say: ‘Please do it. You will learn a lot about yourself, a lot about your faith and a lot about your community.’”