week of May 2, 2005

Krevans family celebrates son’s Bar- Mitzvah, the first ever in Bethel

by K.J. Lincoln

Solomon Krevans, who celebrated his Bar-Mitzvah, leads the community Passover. A Bar-Mitzvah is a coming of age ceremony where a Jewish boy or girl is welcomed into adulthood. Here Solomon is blessing the Matzah, a flat bread, which is eaten as a reminder that when the Isralites left Egypt, they escaped in a hurry. photo by Nili Sundown

The Krevans family had much to celebrate last Saturday as Solomon, the eldest son of J.R. and Mary Krevans moved out of childhood into manhood at his Bar -Mitzvah, a Jewish ceremony that marks the 13th birthday of a Jewish boy, after which he takes full responsibility for his moral and spiritual conduct.

Solomon, who turned 13 in February, studied hard for the past several years under the guidance of his father, and later with David Horesh until his Bar-Mitzvah, which was attended by close relatives and friends who traveled from as far away as California and Maine. He learned to read Hebrew from the handwritten Torah scroll.

“A Bar-Mitzvah is essentially a coming of age ceremony which takes place when a boy is 13 and a girl is 12. They stand up before the community and they lead part of the service and they read from the Torah,” said Horesh, at whose home the ceremony took place. “The Torah is what we call the Bible.”

During his Bar-Mitzvah, Solomon read from the Torah during the final day of Passover, hosting the Seder, or gathering, and reading from the Haggedah, the prayer book for the Seder which he had compiled himself in preparation for the Bar-Mitzvah. His Bar- Mitzvah is the first ever in Bethel that community members are aware of.

“What it marks is the passage from childhood to adulthood. By standing up before the community and reading from the Bible, he announces that he knows what his responsibilities are,” said Horesh.

The Krevans are very proud of their son, who worked very hard in anticipation for this event.

“Solomon was very extremely excited,” said Dad J.R. “And we’re proud of him. It has been a huge amount of intense study, hours a week for the last several years. I would also like to give our family’s thanks to David Horesh and Dana Hall, and to Sherry and Reece Carroll-Fishman for everything they’ve done.”