Sharon Rennert

Didn’t have a Bat Mitzvah when I was 12; our Conservative synagogue made them optional for girls. (And back then Bat Mitzvahs were only held on Friday nights and girls did not read from the Torah.) I became involved with Hillel during my freshman year and decided that I wanted to celebrate and honor my Jewish beliefs and heritage by having a Bat Mitzvah. It was held in March 1979. I chanted the entire Torah portion and led much of the ceremony, far more than I would have done if I had a Bat Mitzvah at 12! I am so glad I waited; ceremony meant far more me to at 19 than it would have meant at 12.