By Skip Sheffield
BOCA RATON – Some things in life are worth waiting for.
Harriet Goldner of Boca Raton has waited 55 years for her Bat Mitzvah ceremony. At age 68 she feels it is about time to officially declare her womanhood in the Jewish faith.
“When I was 13, our synagogue in New Jersey did not have Bat Mitzvah ceremonies,” she explains in the living room of her Stonebridge Country Club home. “Only boys were able to participate as Bar Mitzvah. Girls were considered less important.”
Goldner quickly adds that she is “no women’s libber,” but male chauvinism raises her hackles. With the encouragement of Cantor Ellen Stettner, Harriet embarked on her regimen of study.
Harriet is not the only one among her age group who is studying for Bat Mitzvah many years after the fact.
“It’s not that unusual anymore,” she says with a shrug. “There are eight women in my class and I can’t speak for others, but now I have the time to indulge in serious study. I was inspired by my grandson, who is studying for his Bar Mitzvah. I thought of what he has to learn, and his fear of public speaking. I wanted to show if I can do it, he can do it.”
Harriet Goldner’s four grandchildren are very important to her. So is her Jewish faith. Only now does she have the time and incentive to educate her grandchildren and other young people.
Goldner has written two short and simple books that explain some of the complexities of the Jewish faith in an entertaining, easy-to-understand fashion.
“Two Grandmothers to Love” is inspired by the Jewish-Christian interfaith marriage of one of Goldner’s sons. “Please Don’t Pass Over the Seder Plate” explains the symbolism of Passover and the ritual of the Seder dinner.
“We were at a Seder dinner in Colorado with my grandson Isaac, who was only two,” she recounts. “I realized no 2-year-old could understand the meaning of the Haggadah, so I decided to write about it in a way children and people of other faiths can understand.”
Goldner used computer clip art to illustrate “Please Don’t Pass Over the Seder Plate” with bright, cartoonish images, so that even the very young can understand the rituals and stories of the Haggadah prayer book.
“I got a laugh when one of the children said he wanted to see the `Dr. Seuss Haggadah’,” she says with a smile. “I had a press run of 1,000 the first year, and it sold out. We printed 2,000 the second year, and 3,000 the third.”
In all, Goldner has printed 6,000 copies of the book, but she says she won’t be printing any more. She sells the books on her web site: www.jewishfamilyfun.com, but profit is not a motive.
Harriet, a retired freelance editor and her husband Alan moved to Boca Raton in 2002 upon his retirement. He is currently president of the board of Stonebridge Country Club. Harriet stays busy with her creative pursuits, which include custom, one-off photo books for all her grandchildren.
“I love the computer,” she declares. “I love photo manipulation. I am no artist. I can’t draw, but I can create books for my grandchildren with the help of the computer. I also volunteer at FAU with Aaron Kula and the Jewish music collections. Because I can read music, I can use a computer program to create notations and hear the music to help Aaron with his arrangements. I do yoga twice a week too. I make my own jewelry. I don’t believe retirement is just sitting around, crocheting or playing golf. There is so much more to life.”