By Susan Shinn
sshinn@salisburypost.com
As twins, Emma and Maddie Labovitz have shared a lot of things over their 13 years.
In December, they celebrated their b’not mitzvah at Temple Israel.
In the Jewish tradition, boys typically celebrate their bar mitzvah at age 13. This has been going on for hundreds of years, according to the girls’ father, Seth Labovitz.
But the bat mitzvah ó the celebration for girls ó came into vogue in the 1970s.
When two girls go through the ceremony, it is called a b’not mitzvah. The ceremony is a recognition of young people by the congregation, a rite of passage.
Both girls admitted to some apprehension.
“I was nervous!” Maddie says.
“I was actually scared I was gonna have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the ceremony,” Emma says.
But things went smoothly throughout the 90-minute service.
The girls, who are seventh-graders at Knox Middle School, were well prepared. They’ve been attending Hebrew school at Temple Emmanuel in Winston-Salem since the second grade.
Their instructor has been Dr. Barbara Thiede, who is herself studying to be a rabbi.
Rabbi Andrew Ettin conducted the service and helped with the preparation.
The girls want to continue their studies.
“We’re thinking about confirmation classes, which go up to 10th grade,” Emma says.
But their dad says he knows his girls are happy their intensive studies are over.
The b’not mitzvah was a morning service, following the traditional sabbath service format.
It marked the first time the girls put on a tallit or prayer shawl.
They read from the Torah and read blessings in Hebrew which their mom, Diane, translated into English.
“We had a lot of non-Jewish people there, so we tried to make it more interesting,” Emma says.
Their mom is not Jewish.
Emma and Maddie took turns carrying to Torah around the room so that the worshippers could touch it as a sign of honor.
It was the first time Emma had worn heels.
“Maddie and I had to carry this 25-pound Torah,” she says. “I was scared I was gonna trip in my heels.”
If someone drops the Torah, people in the congregation take turns fasting for 50 days.
Luckily, the girls did fine.
“Then we read from the Torah,” Maddie says.
They each read parts of the story of Jacob’s ladder.
Is Hebrew hard to read aloud?
“Yes!” Maddie says.
“It’s easy to sound out words but understanding the meaning is the hard part,” Emma says.
“Chanting is not easy,” Maddie adds.
“When you’re up there, you’re too nervous to look at the book and so you have to have it in your head,” Maddie says.
Their mom also notes that the Torah is read from right to left.
Emma and Maddie were inspired by the passage about Jacob and his tithing. They decided to donate 10 percent of their b’not mitzvah gifts ó which is typically money ó to Faithful Friends.
The luncheon afterward at the Heritage Room downtown, Maddie says, was fun.
The Mount Sinai Ramblers from Greensboro played.
“It was fun to dance to,” Emma says, “and we had a big cupcake tower.”
And lots of pink and green balloons.
Of course, for such an auspicious occasion, you have to have the perfect dress. The girls scoured Hanes Mall before finding just what they wanted at Nordstrom’s at South Park ó a teal, gray and black dress for Maddie and a black dress for Emma.
“Mine was cool and Emma’s was elegant,” Maddie says.
In all, there were about 140 congregation members, friends and family present.
“It was kind of like a mini wedding,” Emma says.
She adds, “We had a ton of people dancing.”
So many, in fact, that the owners of a Step in Time downstairs thought the roof was going to cave in.
Away from synagogue, Maddie and Emma have both been involved with Piedmont Players Theatre’s youth theater. Emma is playing a goddess in the current production, “The Tempest.”
“We were on the tennis team this year and we’re trying out for soccer,” Emma says.
They hope to be top seeds on the tennis team next year.
“Technically, she is,” Maddie says.
“Barely,” Emma says.
At school, Emma says, “I really like my language arts teacher.”
“I really like lunch,” Maddie chimes in.
“She’s very good at lunch, too,” her dad says.
The girls have big plans for college and beyond.
“I want to go to UNC for undergrad and Harvard for graduate school then become senator or governor and then run for president,” Emma says firmly.
“I know I want to go to Wake Forest for undergrad school,” Maddie says, “then I’m not sure what I want to do.”
However, she’s considering being a child psychologist, a journalist, a New York coffee shop owner or a vet. And definitely a celebrity.
Maddie says she was glad that she and Emma had their b’not mitzvah together.
“I would rather have it with somebody than by myself,” Maddie says.
But Emma has a different perspective.
“Because you’re twins, you’re used to sharing birthdays and everything, and you kind of want something for yourself,” she says.
But it was OK to have her twin sister with her.
“She helped me and I helped her,” Emma says.
“They did help each other,” Seth says.