Mozel Tov, Isaac! And thanks for the invite.

One of the many things I love about my job is that I get to attend and help celebrate once-in-a-lifetime spiritual events. Before leaving my job as a professor of photojournalism, I spent more than two years documenting religious diversity in Mississippi.

It’s a passion of mine, to document and experience religious events from across the religious spectrum. A nd not surprisingly, one of my favorites is the coming-of-age bar, bat or b’nai mitzvah.

While I wasn’t able to attend Isaac’s religious Bar Mitzvah service at Congregation Shearith Israel, everyone I spoke with told me what a wonderful job he did.

I’m not surprised. On Thursday, at his rehearsal, Isaac carried and dressed the Torah with care, and read his passage from it with sincerity.

Isaac laughed after he chose the hebrew word for “remember” from the Torah when the rabbi asked. Well, he actually laughed after he realized he had just barely missed choosing the word “sin.”

Now that, you will remember, Isaac.

Isaac with proud parents, Andrea and Michael.

If you, or someone you know, is looking for a photographer who is passionate about photographing Bar, Bat and B’nai Mitzvahs, send them to my Mitzvah portfolio/contact page.