Bar Mitzvahs
Then......
June 5th, 1982...My 13th birthday was the date of my Bar Mitzvah.  I'm with my paternal grandmother on my front
stoop on 3rd Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn prior to going to the Synagogue that morning.   The day was a low-key
affair.  It was a reformed Bar Mitzvah, followed by a reception at home for all the guests.  By 6:00 in the evening,
the event was finished.
............And NOW
After the Orthodox Bar Mitzvah for my younger brothers, Joseph and Michael on January 31st, 2004 (not their
birthday, although Michael will question that), we partied it up in downtown New Haven like only Jews can -- of course,
after sun set.   About 150 people were in attendance at The Graduate Club in Yale University which included a live DJ,
live dancing girls (I was never so blessed at my Bar Mitzvah), and lots of family, extended family, and my brothers'
school classmates.
The proud parents went all out on this
day.
Somehow, I don't think this would've been possible in the
dining room reception I had.  Joseph is on the left, Michael
on the right.
We finally cooled down for the formal
picture taking.  I'm the tall one in the
back (Am I really a part of this family or
am I adopted?).
Was there really enough cake for
everyone?  And was it a dairy cake or
a "meat" cake?  I can't remember.
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