Preparing for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah

Dylan is an 8th grader at Thomas J. Pyle Middle School in Bethesda. He highly  values his family and Jewish tradition, and, in his own words from a recent essay, "Music is my deepest passion, but giving to others is my deepest desire."  He is an accomplished classical piano player and composer, and also has been playing violin for the past four years.

In keeping with Dylan's strongly held values, he prioritized having his grandparents be physically present to participate in his Bar Mitzvah in a COVID-safe manner, reading the Torah and Haftorah portions that match his new, postponed April 24 Bar Mitzvah date from a Torah scroll, and integrating instrumental and vocal music into the Shabbat service when he had to make some tough choices about this rite of passage in the pandemic.  He therefore will be celebrating his bar mitzvah in the backyard of his home, and inviting the BJC community to participate by Zoom. 

Years before Dylan needed to select a mitzvah project, he started volunteering with the Tacy Foundation, www.tacyfoundation.org,which aims to brings hope and joy to older members of the community living in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and rehabilitative centers, as well as hospital patients, by performing music for them in person. 

 

During the pandemic, he has continued to volunteer with Tacy by recording and uploading videos of him playing classical piano for distribution online, planning and performing an outdoor concert at a rehabilitation center with his brother this past summer, and taking online classes through Tacy's "Piano Pals" program to learn to teach piano to elementary school students in nearby economically disadvantaged schools.  In addition to volunteering, he will be making a donation to the Tacy Foundation for his bar mitzvah.