Avital’s recent Bat Mitzvah took place on Saturday 17 September. Her speech at Dianella Shule was about her Parsha Ki Tavo, which she explained to me is all about curses and blessings -but she, happily, chose to speak about some of the blessings and how they relate to us today.

Avital then took part in a ‘kiddush’ with the whole shule, alongside her Year 6 peers. Her family from Melbourne flew over for the occasion, including her cousins and her Savta.

The silent disco afterwards was held at the Gordon Bloomfield Hall and the menu included pizzas, chips, spring rolls and a massive lolly buffet! By the time her Safta brought out the huge chocolate cake with pieces of white chocolate on the outside, only about four pieces were eaten, because everybody was so full and needed to go and play ‘it’, running around on the oval behind the hall for ages. Happily, the remainder of what sounded like a fantastic cake was taken to Hyde Park the following day, when all the family got together for a picnic. Lots of fun was had on the playground and the children spent a happy time playing together.

Avital explained to me that as she has now become a Bat Mitzvah, she is required to fast for all the fasts, even the minor ones. She is not really worried about the imminent Yom Kippur fast, which will last for 25 hours. Another difference is that her dad will now encourage her to stay in shule for the majority of the time rather than playing with her friends in the foyer!