Throwing Candy at the Bar/Bat Mitzvah

By Anonymous -
http://m5.paperblog.com/i/71/714671/interesting-psak-no-candy-man-no-throwing-can-L-4eXirb.jpeg
Growing up Jewish, I remember my seventh grade year as being scattered with the Bar and Bat Mitzvahs of many of my classmates, both from Hebrew School and from my regular school class. I'm sure many others also remember getting dressed up on Saturday morning, going to synagogue, listening to a friend chant in Hebrew for a couple hours, and then later that day going to a big party at a local country club or somewhere.

One of the many traditions that take place throughout the day is the throwing of the candy. This takes place after the Bar/Bat Mitzvah has just finished reading their Torah and Havtorah sections. The audience takes out the individually wrapped circular gummy candies and (hopefully) gently lobs them over the crowd and at the 13 year old at the front. Once the bombardment ends, the younger children dash to the front and collect as much candy as they can to quietly munch on back in their seats or later throughout the day.

I was reminded of this tradition in class on Monday, as we discussed sweetness. One thing that we talked about was how we tend to reward ourselves with sweets, like after finishing a paper or a long reading we will have a piece of chocolate or a cookie. One reason I knew of for this tradition of throwing candy at the Bar/Bat Mitzvah is that you are literally showering the young adult in sweetness, and wishing them a sweet transition into the next stage of their life.

Going further, I think it's interesting that, while this is happening, the Bar/Bat Mitzvah doesn't even get to eat any of the candy. Hopefully they are able to nab a few before the younger kids glean them all, but even so, it won't be until after the service that they get to eat any of the candy. But still, the expression on their faces as candy it hurtling towards them is often one of glee, pride, and happiness. At this point they know that the hardest part of the service is over, they've done it! Without even having the taste of the candy to refer to, this is still such a sweet moment for them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amidst the Pandemic

By -
Image
I think having the opportunity to take Smells and Bells and then experiencing a worldwide pandemic came with good timing. Oftentimes, we’re so rushed to get from one one place to another that we miss out on what happens around us. We’re so accustomed to the lifestyle of being busy that it has become the norm for many of us. However, the pandemic has forced us to slow down. We’re now appreciating everything that we had previously taken for granted and noticing things in our surroundings that we have never noticed before.  Take this quarantining/social distancing as an opportunity to be more aware of what you experience through the senses. I don’t think my senses have necessarily heightened over the past 5 weeks, but I am actively making the choice to pay more attention to what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I like going on nature/mindfulness walks and basking in the sunshine out in my backyard. This morning, I could hear a faint noise from the wind, hear the birds chirping, f
Read more

Food in the Afterlife

By -
Image
In Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions , Perez talks of Ashabi and her grandchildren providing food offerings to their ancestors. This immediately reminded me of the practice of food sacrifice in early China. I've taken Chinese language classes for about 7 years now and in one of the lessons, we learned about food as well as the history of food in Chinese culture. Ashabi and her grandchildren would give food offerings to their ancestors every day. This included nine beverages (coffee, liquor, and water mixed with sugar and molasses) and nine square pieces of coconut topped with red palm oil and guinea pepper. The offerings would also include whatever food was dropped on the ground. In their house, food dropping on the floor signified more than it would in common American households. It signified that the ancestors wanted that food and had willingly made it fall to the floor. They also used dishware that had been chipped which was
Read more