Sera Flomenhaft celebrated her Bat Mitzvah ceremony with family and friends at the Nyack Seaport, on October 11th, 2021. The ceremony was an uplifting celebration of love, renewal, and intercultural richness.
Sera’s family is a unique mixture of influences, bridging deep roots in the Orthodox and Chabad communities of Borough Park, and Crown Heights, Brooklyn, together with roots in Hindu Tamil culture. Sera studied Hebrew, Torah, and chanting with fellow Hebrew Learning Circles students before and during COVID restrictions. She stood out as a kind and caring friend, and a positive leader in her group. With a deeply curious mind Serah demonstrated bold creativity, intelligence and striking aptitude in the art of Torah interpretation, and a knack for asking probing, and meaningful questions.
Sera’s immediate female role-models, grandma Eleanor Flomenhaft (Elly), the Jewish matriarch of the Flomenhaft family, and mother, Anupama (Anu) Amaran a Tamil Indian American, both strongly supported a seamless process of intercultural integration as she worked to earn her Bat Mitzvah rite of passage. Grandma Elly says “clearly Sera loves participating in both her Indian and Jewish heritage very, very, much”.
Ted Flomenhaft, Sera’s father, was inspirational in teaching her the value of owning one’s Jewish identity, as well as universal values that bridge Judaism and Hinduism, such as integrity, humanity, responsibility, service, and family loyalty. Ted especially stressed appreciation of the brilliant and unique gifts of other cultures.
Sera was deeply intrigued that her Parasha, Lekh Lekha, describes various ways in which God communicates to humans. Sera says “I was excited to discover that when people pay attention to subtle clues in daily living, as well as to their dreams, then maybe one can recognize a message from God”, a deeply mature insight. Her words of wisdom at the ceremony inspired all in attendance.
Anu felt proud that “Sera trained in a traditional Indian dance form called Bharatanatyam”, which is customary in Tamil culture for coming-of-age girls. And indeed, Sera was recognized by her Tamil relatives in a separate online Hindu traditional ceremony. Congratulations, Sera!
Sera’s family is a unique mixture of influences, bridging deep roots in the Orthodox and Chabad communities of Borough Park, and Crown Heights, Brooklyn, together with roots in Hindu Tamil culture. Sera studied Hebrew, Torah, and chanting with fellow Hebrew Learning Circles students before and during COVID restrictions. She stood out as a kind and caring friend, and a positive leader in her group. With a deeply curious mind Serah demonstrated bold creativity, intelligence and striking aptitude in the art of Torah interpretation, and a knack for asking probing, and meaningful questions.
Sera’s immediate female role-models, grandma Eleanor Flomenhaft (Elly), the Jewish matriarch of the Flomenhaft family, and mother, Anupama (Anu) Amaran a Tamil Indian American, both strongly supported a seamless process of intercultural integration as she worked to earn her Bat Mitzvah rite of passage. Grandma Elly says “clearly Sera loves participating in both her Indian and Jewish heritage very, very, much”.
Ted Flomenhaft, Sera’s father, was inspirational in teaching her the value of owning one’s Jewish identity, as well as universal values that bridge Judaism and Hinduism, such as integrity, humanity, responsibility, service, and family loyalty. Ted especially stressed appreciation of the brilliant and unique gifts of other cultures.
Sera was deeply intrigued that her Parasha, Lekh Lekha, describes various ways in which God communicates to humans. Sera says “I was excited to discover that when people pay attention to subtle clues in daily living, as well as to their dreams, then maybe one can recognize a message from God”, a deeply mature insight. Her words of wisdom at the ceremony inspired all in attendance.
Anu felt proud that “Sera trained in a traditional Indian dance form called Bharatanatyam”, which is customary in Tamil culture for coming-of-age girls. And indeed, Sera was recognized by her Tamil relatives in a separate online Hindu traditional ceremony. Congratulations, Sera!