TORONTO — Fela Karmiol, 92, recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of her bat mitzvah by attending a graduation ceremony.
A Holocaust survivor from Lodz, Poland, Karmiol’s bat mitzvah was the culmination of a course run by Rachael Turkienicz, educator and founder of Rachael’ s Centre for Torah, Mussar and Ethics.
Karmiol attended the graduation of the TOMgirls program, designed by Turkienicz for young women and their mothers (TOMstands for “Torah of our mothers”), “because [even after 10 years], I remember how I felt being near the sefer Torah,” she said.
“It was the first time I had learned any Hebrew, and there are no words to describe my joy and interest. I was given a gift.”
Galit Kochav-Lev, who participated in TOMgirls with her daughter Tohar, 12, said that four generations of women were present at last month’s graduation ceremony, “and that gave tremendous meaning to the event.
“The girls met women who had gone through so much. They learned that these women had a lot to offer, and that they did not have the opportunity to take part in such a course.”
This was so much more than other bat mitzvah programs, Kochav-Lev said. “Rather than dropping off my daughter, we learned together.”
In addition to weekly themes – such as community building, inner beauty, nourishing ourself and others and tikkun olam – mothers were asked to write their daughters a letter, and the daughters were asked to write a short brachah for their mothers.
“Example of the brachot were ‘You should continue smiling’ and ‘Take a deep breath and remember how good life is,’” said Kochav-Lev.
Turkienicz said the graduation ceremony allowed women of every generation to celebrate learning. “Everyone in the room felt that this is something that needs to be passed on. The relationship with our mothers is something that lasts a lifetime.”
She said that she is planning a course for women who want to study with their grown daughters. For information call 416-630-6488 or visit www.rachaelscentre.org.
