Third bar mitzvah...is a first for the rabbi

“Preparing a D’var Torah required study and reflection. It meant engaging again with our texts and traditions – not out of obligation, but out of choice. Student rabbi Richard’s sermon, informed in part by conversations with committed members of the congregation, reminded me how deeply embedded we are in community.”

David Hayes (left) and student rabbi Richard Allen Greene (Photo: Michele Saffer)[Missing Credit]

In a speech after a celebratory lunch, David thanked past and present members of the Seven Hills committee for their dedication to the shul community and to his friends and family who had supported him following the loss of his wife.

He added: “A Bar Mitzvah marks obligation. At 80, I feel that obligation less as burden and more as privilege.”

Community members also paid tribute to David’s contributions to the congregation, which have included promoting Jewish music in the region and serving for many years as editor of the synagogue magazine.

Speaking afterwards, student rabbi Richard said while he had “that feeling where you’re officiating at your first Bar Mitzvah”, he knew it was going to go well “because it’s the Bar Mitzvah boy’s third. I thank David for offering me this mitzvah and all at Seven Hills Shul for welcoming me back so warmly.”