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Words to Elianna upon becoming a Bat Mitzvah

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This past Saturday, Elianna had her bat mitzvah service. It is customary in many synagogues for a parent to say a few words to the young adult during the service. Following are the words I said to her. Beyond the opportunity to kvell,  I hope some parents may read this and see their own child, and their own feelings, reflected. And never to forget those feelings. Elianna: I went to a concert recently. Yes, really. Imagine that. You didn’t come to this one. Anyway, at the concert, the bandleader – you’ve met him once or twice, sort of – said this: "First thing you do, before you write a decent song, … before you play your first gig, you lay in bed at night and you dream yourself up. Everything you weren't in the day… So the first thing you do is, you dream yourself to life." I thought about that quite a bit when I read your d’var torah . You’ve brought yourself to life, your whole life. You dream and imagine and read and create and you commit yourself to your frie