Bar Mitzvah in the Jewish Community of Antioquia, Colombia
by Rabbi Elad Villegas
The following words of Rabbi Elad Villegas upon the bar mitzvah of his son Yitzhak, in Antioquia, Colombia, speak about the importance of the event and the impact of it in their lives on a personal and community level:
As a Jew, the process of life is faced in the present with decisions that encompass the future. Each step of religious life will always be accompanied by the longing for the continuity of Jewish life through future generations.
That is why having the opportunity to get to the moment of celebrating a Bar Mitzvah, as I did with my son Yitzhak, I understand that it is not a goal or an objective as such, but rather as the opportunity to evaluate and glimpse the potential success of my future. family; And the truth is, this evaluation has been very satisfactory. I am aware that natural tendency of a father is to see his son as the best in the world and of course I am no different, but if I want to emphasize that my son Yitzhak is a boy with exceptional virtues, I say it not only for myself but for his performance in each area of his activities and development, such as the school, his friends, the community, etc., where his way of acting, living and deciding reflect the love and real dedication he has towards the Torah and our laudable people.
I firmly believe that it is mainly the result of his great soul and of course the family accompaniment full of Torah and good midot (qualities), as well as the development of study of the “Talmud Torah Yosef Adia”, the talmud of the Jewish Community of Antioquia in which Yitzhak at 3 years of age was one of the children who belonged to the first study group and since then he has not stopped studying every day.
Now, apart from my family feeling a special pride in being able to have the grace of heaven with a good son and knowing that he is a young man who was born and raised in our community, it is also knowing that in our present we can count on him to the minyan and that his good qualities will be an example to follow for the other children who are being formed in our community circle.
For this reason I believe that the religious education of our children is vital, and not leave them at the mercy of the technologies and teachings of a world that little or nothing can awaken the virtues that the soul of the Jew should have.
Yitzhak Villegas Bar Mitzvah