Australian doctor celebrates B’nai Mitzvah in Canton

Dr. Vivienne Aarons (center) is pictured with members of the adult class at B’nai Tikvah and Reb Lisa Feld (far left). Photo courtesy of Linda Silverstein

The congregation of B’nai Tikvah rejoiced on Saturday as a seven-member adult class celebrated their B’nai Mitzvah. Some members of the class live in Canton, others in a neighboring town. Dr. Vivienne Aarons, however, traveled halfway around the world from her home in Adelaide, South Australia, to be with her classmates, some of whom she knew only through her studies on Zoom.

Traditionally a Jewish boy celebrates his bar mitzvah at the age of 13 and a girl celebrates her bat mitzvah at 12. Due to circumstances, not everyone can follow this tradition, which is what happened in the case of Aarons, a family doctor who practices in a rural area in her native country.

Aarons was raised in the Anglican faith. Her late husband, Ian, was Jewish and she converted to Judaism after they married. “Back then, we’re talking about 45 years ago, women didn’t need to know Hebrew,” she said, “because their husbands did all the prayers for them, apart from the Shabbat blessings.” She was also busy with the couple’s son and daughter, and didn’t find the time to celebrate her Bat Mitzvah. She now has three granddaughters; all of her family lives in Adelaide and she sees them quite often.

In February of 2020, Aarons was scheduled to fly to Israel and meet up with a Boston area congregation to travel through that country. On her way to Tel Aviv, she stopped in Singapore and stayed there for three nights. She left Singapore and headed for her next stop, Munich. While she was en route, however, the Israeli government closed its borders to anyone who was coming from Asia due to COVID-19, and she was not allowed to board her next flight. Instead, she flew to Edinburgh, Scotland, and on to New York City for her first visit to the United States.

Keshet Tours, the Israeli tour company, gave her a credit and later contacted her to let her know that a group from B’nai Tikvah was going to travel to Israel in April of 2022. She sent an email to Rabbi Leonard Gordon, the trip leader, to see about joining them.

“Even before I got to Israel, he was very welcoming,” Aarons said, “and I was Zooming in to their services and that sort of thing. I sort of knew a lot of the faces before I met them in Israel, because I’d seen them on Zoom. It was a small group; there were only about 10 or 11 of us, and it was just a wonderful group to travel with.”

Aarons said that she became a kind of associate member of the temple and received their emails and newsletters. When she saw that Reb Lisa Feld, a rabbinic intern at the temple, was going to offer an adult education class on Zoom for those who wished to celebrate their bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, she realized that she wanted to take part in it.

The group started their studies in October of 2022 and at the same time Aarons began to learn Hebrew. “I had to go and buy an alphabet book and start from scratch,” she said. She said that she taught herself the language, which was difficult, but got into the habit of studying every day.

“Some members of our class are reclaiming skills they’ve forgotten over the years, others are stretching their abilities to master something totally new,” Reb Lisa said. “It takes real courage not just to become a student again, but to stand up in front of a crowd and show what you’ve learned, to lead the community. It’s been a privilege to teach this class, and I am incredibly proud of them.”

Once she felt confident with the Torah reading, Aarons met with Kathy Baykitch, the curator of the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Steiner Education Centre in Adelaide and Zoomed with Ellie Sirk in Canton. Both women helped her with her study and pronunciation of Hebrew.

Aarons returned to the U.S. in December of 2022 to renew and maintain the ties she had made with the congregation and to visit the Boston area. While here, she spoke to the congregation about Jewish life and history in Australia. “What a speech she made,” said Jeffrey Weinberg, a member of the adult education class who met Aarons on the Israel trip. “It was unbelievable. She’s such a nice lady. It was wonderful to meet her.”

Reb Lisa held her classes at lunchtime each Monday, which meant that Aarons joined the group at 1 or 2 a.m. on Tuesday mornings, depending on Daylight Savings Time. She changed her work schedule so that she saw patients on Mondays and Wednesdays and had Tuesdays off.

During her December trip, Aarons met with Reb Lisa to talk about the possibility of celebrating her Bat Mitzvah with the class. “I’ll see how I go reading the Torah,” she said, “and if I think I can crack it, I’ll come back.” She decided in February to return to Canton.

“For me it’s a big achievement to have learned the Torah pieces,” Aarons said, “and to chant and learn the Torah tropes and the musical notations.”

She added that in her experience, there can be fewer opportunities to make new friends as you get older. “The synagogue has been a wonderful opportunity to expand that Jewish circle,” she said.

She hopes to visit the U.S. again. “There’s a reason to come. There was never a pull factor, but there is now.”

Aarons praised Reb Lisa for her strong teaching skills. “[She’s a] wonderful person to work with, encouraging and very patient,” she said. “It was great. She had people of all levels and we all got to where we’ve got to.”

“It’s been a joy to have Viv as such an involved member of our synagogue and of this class;” Reb Lisa said. “On Zoom, it’s possible to forget that she’s tuning in during the wee hours of the morning for our lunch-and-learn. She’s become a true part of our community.”

“I’ve always been very welcomed here,” Aarons added, “right from the word ‘Go’ when I first emailed Rabbi Gordon. The whole congregation has been very welcoming, so it’s really great.”

In addition to Aarons and Weinberg, the members of the B’nai Mitzvah class included Dr. Alan Bulotsky, Elaine Matisoff, Dr. Cathy Stern, Phyllis Hewson, and Lorraine Simon.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on May 5 2023. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.