Bat Mitzvah

The temple was full this sunny morning: family, friends and neighbors had all finished talking and socializing in the entrance; everyone had signed the guest book, and all were seated in the pews, expectantly awaiting the beginning of the ceremony. The temple altar was lit with sunbeams from the temple windows, the gold trim shining here and there, transforming the room into a heavenly space.

The Rabbi, synagogue president, and Sam's parents were seated against the front wall and to the side so as to observe her while she led the congregation in the worship ceremony. She had elected to read from Genesis.

Now the congregation hushed to leave a silence for her as she walked to the podium. She was wearing a figure hugging dress, mid thigh length, with red and silver flowers on a black background (a compromise with her mother so she wouldn't have to wear white), black heels, and her black hair up in a bun. As she opened the scroll, her violet eyes sparkled, and looking up to the congregation for the first time, she gave a practiced smile with lips closed, practiced, because she knew she would be nervous, but had rehearsed so many times, her ritual was now automatic. She was now reaping the benefit of repetition.

She began to chant in ritual trope, the singing recitation of the holy words, with a beautiful soprano voice that brought smiles to everyone in the temple. As she read she looked up from the scroll...and then paused.

In the third row was Danny. She flashed back to her dream. He smiled at her. He was very attractive with his thick black hair, and even from the altar she could see the blue in his eyes. She looked back down at the scroll, blushing. Her father, seated behind her, could not see his daughter's face, and thinking that she might have forgotten her place, or worse, suffered from stage fright, stood up from his chair to go to the podium to assist his daughter. Then it happened:

The temple windows darkened, the sunbeams disappearance plunging the temple into twilight shades of gray, except for the scroll in front of her. Surounding the edges of the scroll was a golden glint as if the sunbeams never left. It was the brightest object in the temple room, gold light reflecting from her awe stricken face. She looked up, and everyone was looking at the scroll and her, but Danny was getting up and exiting the pews toward the center walkway.

Now her father reached her, and saw the gleaming scroll too, and took his daughter by the elbow. She grabbed her father's arm and stood back from the scroll. Danny was walking up, front and center.

Before he could reach the altar, blue-green beams of light began to erupt from the scroll, beams that were at first straight up to the ceiling, but then began to twist into a circle, a large halo that rose above the father and daughter, and began circling about them. The air was ionized and a faint hissing could now be heard.

Danny went to the other side of Sam, and stood between her and the scroll. He had to shield his eyes from the blue light now, it was brilliant, a blinding shimmering that rivaled a laser. The Rabbi bowed and prayed. He had not told anyone about his haunting experience earlier, but had feared this would happen since the previous occurence involved Sam.

Now flares began to emerge from the halo, blue flames that wavered and stretched, until finally they detached, and flew about the halo, continuing the circle, near the ceiling; detached flames that now were as large as vague human forms. The entire congregation was as stone, fear and awe in their large eyes, some praying, hands clasped in a white knuckled and desperate invocation for protection.

The various detached flames were now clearly human forms: women and men, and as they orbited the halo, their faces became clear: old wrinkled faces. The blue ghosts now flew down to the trio by the podium, and stood on the altar, surrounding the living. The father's mouth was agape, and then his eyes narrowed.

"Bubby? My God, is that you Bubby?" The blue ghost he addressed only smiled, but then walked past him, and together with the other ghosts, circled closer to Sam. Now all the flaming apparitions held hands in a circle around her, arms and hands going right through the torsos of her father and Danny. They began to chant.

Then Sam began to shimmer with a blue sparkle! She became one of the flaming ghosts, and with a shocked face, she looked around, helpless.

"SAMMY!" Her father tried to grab her, and felt nothing but cold, cold air. Fear and anguish was naked in his face. Then a blinding green flash! The sunbeams were again shining through the windows, the darkness had departed.

When everyone opened their eyes, Sam was lying on the floor of the altar. Before her father could recover his eyesight and notice his daughter on the floor, Danny had scooped her up and lifted her.

"Sammy! My baby!" The father held his daughter's face in his hands. Her eyelids fluttered.

"Father?" She turned her head and looked up into Danny's eyes.

"Are you...ok?" he asked.

"Yes, I think so." She moved to stand up out of his arms, then held onto one of his arms with both hands.

"Sammy!" She turned and placed a hand on her father. Everyone was spellbound as to what would happen next.

She lifted her hand from her father and felt her forehead.

"I met them. I met my ancestors! Hundreds of them, from thousands of years ago! How long was I gone?"

"You weren't gone more than a second, you never really left" said Danny. She stared at him.

"I saw you in my dream." She softly spoke.

"And I saw you in mine. I saw this would happen." said Danny. Her mouth fell open at his statement.

Her father noticed the scroll had fallen on the floor, and had unraveled down the altar steps. He bent down to pick it up, and the Rabbi, coming to his senses, went over to the other end of the scroll to help roll it up.

As the two men looked up holding the scroll, they saw Danny and Sam still holding each other's arms, staring into one another's eyes.

"A miracle" the Rabbi said.

"A miracle" said Danny and Sam.