BY BETH MECHUM, Staff Writer
If there’s ever a time for tradition, a bat mitzvah is it.
There are just certain things, whether you are reform or conservative, kosher or non-kosher, a regular synagogue attendee or a High Holidays-appearance type of Jew, that all kids turning 13 must do in order to become bar or bat mitzvahed.
This includes hours of learning a Haftorah (birthday Torah portion), shopping for a new outfit and generally getting excited and nervous for the big day.
Sadie Rapp did all those things, but she decided to buck much of the tradition surrounding her coming-of-age ceremony for a more environmentally friendly event.
Gone are the hundreds of intricate invitations with layers of cardstock and envelopes. Gone are the flowers from big corporations hundreds of miles away. And partially gone is the stressing over a high expense for just one night, albeit an important night.
“I decided that I would do a green bat mitzvah because this past year I’ve been to lots and lots of my friend’s bar and bat mitzvahs and their parties, and it’s just kind of made me sad to see how much stuff they waste or could be more green,†Sadie said.
Sadie’s environmental spirit first came during her time at Lerner Jewish Day School in Durham, where she learned about global awareness in her fifth-grade class. She said she just didn’t like to see things go to waste, so she’d do her part to limit it.
“We tend to be a little alternative, so nobody was too surprised,†Sadie’s mother Bryna Rapp said. “The challenge was to still make everything look nice.â€
The preparations for a green bat mitzvah started with an evite (electronic invitation)..
“It’s not uncommon to get invitations that are more like wedding invitations than a birthday invitation,†Rapp said. “We have family in New York and other places, where they tend to go pretty fancy with their bar and bat mitzvahs. Here, in general, it tends to be a lot lower key.â€
That’s why she said she felt comfortable going the non-traditional route of emailing invitations, and her family said they supported the decision all the way. Besides the obvious benefits of using less paper and saving money on printing and mailing costs, Rapp said there are some benefits she hadn’t considered.
“There’s instant gratification,†she said. “Right away, people respond, we get great feedback about how excited people are, and people that can’t come can communicate a nice message to Sadie.â€
The invitations were just the beginning. The simple idea of keeping things a little green spawned quickly.
There were the flowers made out of bottle caps and tabs, place cards made out of old cereal boxes and candle holders from recycled cans.
The Rapp family picked a hotel close by for out-of-town guests so people could walk, and Sadie plans to call friends and family to thank them for gifts instead of sending out thank-you notes.
Neighbors and family quickly caught on, and through word of mouth and a blog, news got out.
“We’d come home and find tons of cereal boxes in our mailbox,†Sadie said.
And again, in an effort to be environmentally conscious, Rapp said they were continuously rewarded with small surprises.
Instead of buying and labeling hundreds of yarmulkes for the big day, Sadie decided to re-use some that family members had saved and label them herself.
Rapp said in the process of doing this, she came across a yarmulke from 50 years ago from the Jewish day camp where her parents met. Its memories like those that may well make this type of project a new tradition for many families – the same families that are following Sadie in her quest on mygreenbatmitzvah.blogspot.com
The blog has reached heights neither Sadie nor her mom thought possible when they began the project. There have been rabbis from other communities and friends of friends commenting and offering their support.
“When you’re 13 years old, you already believe you can change the world, and then you have all these adults saying, ‘I believe in you and you inspire me,’†Rapp said. “It’s really powerful. I expect Sadie to ride this wave for a long time. I don’t know what she’ll do with it, but she’s charged up.â€
Sadie’s bat mitzvah is this Saturday, Dec. 19, and Sadie said she is more excited than nervous about the culmination of all her hard work.
Rapp, the proud parent, said she too is excited, but not just for the bat mitzvah.
“I’m looking forward to getting all this garbage out of my house and out to the world,†she said.