Number 66: Maya’s Batmitzvah, Sunday 7 January 2001 in Wynberg, was a joyous occasion celebrated with family and friends. Margo, Dan, Marielle and Seth came out from Toronto. Ilana, came from Johannesburg as did our close friend Edana and Dan’s parents Natalie and Stan.   When looking back on a beautiful function nearly twenty years ago, it is painful to see how many of our family and friends are no longer with us. How young we all looked then!

The theme of Maya’s Dvar Torah was Tsedakah (charity). She read in Hebrew and explained that its root is Tsedek  – meaning justice. Maya talked about the importance of giving charity, not only materially but also in the way we conduct our lives. We need to show warmth, hospitality and fairness towards others. We need to understand that there are people with much less than us, both in the Jewish and the wider communities.

Rabbi Lazarus gave Maya a Drosh. Both Yair and Raymond spoke about how the way Maya lives her life reflects the messages she is giving. Raymond mentioned how Maya had decided to become a vegetarian when very young. She had no role models in her family for this but she persisted and is still a vegetarian today, because she took the view that it is the right thing to do. 

Short messages from her friends included a message from Samara in the USA, that Sheryl read. Maya called up family and friends who were meaningful  to her and gave them a sunflower to put into the vase that Sheryl had made, including Caroline, her oldest friend, the Rabbi and Edana.

Maya Golda was born on 2nd September 1988 and celebrated her Bat Mitzvah 100 years after her Great Grandmother Golda, that she was named after, was born.   One of the meanings of Maya in Hebrew and Aramaic is 100!   Golda would have turned 120 on 2/09/2020!   

Watching the Bat-Mitzvah video again, reinforces that the values and principles that Maya spoke about on her Bat Mitzvah have remained  the cornerstone of her life.