Vivienne’s Bat Mitzvah

“Bat Mitzvah” translates “Daughter of the Commandments” and it means that a young lady is old enough to understand and be accountable for what God requires of her. It’s a time to praise God for working in Vivienne’s life, and celebrate the gift that Vivienne is. Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s aren’t found in Scripture, but they’re not unScriptural. The idea was developed after the time of Christ. We picked and chose what to keep and what to tweak in this Bat Mitzvah so that Jesus’ name would be lifted up.

Shelby and I are very pleased with the hard work Vivienne put in over the last several years to learn the traditional Hebrew prayers, understand more about the heritage God gave her, and to seek to please God.

Perhaps I’m most pleased with the fact that Vivienne understood her Scripture portion and taught everyone the insights she gleaned from the passage. God can speak even to a young person if he or she is willing to listen and believe what God says.

Here are photos…

https://picasaweb.google.com/102024819319825275847/201210VivienneSBatMitzvah

And here are some videos:

Vivienne – 13 Years in 5 Minutes:

For Vivienne’s Bat Mitzvah, Shelby and I made a surprise video showcasing her life and celebrating the gift of God that she is. This is the surprise video we played at her big day.

Aaronic Blessing:

My Colombian friend and mentor and Pastor taught himself the “Aaronic Blessing” in Hebrew and chanted it during my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. Juan speaks Spanish as a first language, English as a second, and sings Hebrew beautifully! The text comes from Numbers 6:24-26. Jesus is glorified!!!

Mitzvah Project:

We assigned Vivienne a “Mitzvah Project.” This means doing a blessing for someone else. Vivienne chose Compassion International’s “Water of Life” to support. As you can see in this video, this is a fantastic program to support!

Full Bat Mitzvah Ceremony:

Here is the whole ceremony to watch…

Also, if you’d like to download the Order of Service Program, please click on the graphic below.

Please note that Vivienne chose “Peacocks” as her “theme” and so Shelby drew the peacock on the cover, and Juliana (11) drew the one on the second page.

I hope this has been a blessing to you! God bless you!!!

with love in Christ,

The Sohmer Family