(Jewish Group) Gabby Giffords' bat mitzvah was as joyous and tearful as you'd expect [View all]
As former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords stood before the congregation of Temple Chaverim in Tucson, Ariz., and kissed her tallit, preparing to chant from the Torah for her bat mitzvah, Rabbi Stephanie Aaron placed her hand atop Giffords’ hand, her voice rising and falling along with Giffords’ own.
It was an emotional moment two decades in the making.
Learning to chant a Torah portion in Hebrew, studying the meaning of the text and offering an interpretation to the congregation, not to mention memorizing all the prayers that accompany the ceremony, can be a lot for anyone, whether you’re 13 or 51. But Giffords’ bat mitzvah, held on the last Saturday of November, also came with additional challenges, and concluded a long, hard journey.
Giffords first approached Aaron in the early 2000s, when the politician was serving in the Arizona legislature, wanting to know more about her Jewish roots. Her mother is a Christian Scientist, her father was Jewish. His father was a rabbi, descended from a long line of Lithuanian rabbis.
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