Boy (and His Sister) Visualize the Bar Mitzvah Maamar

By COLlive staff

Do you remember memorizing the Bar Mitzvah Maamar? Do you remember your 12-year-old son studying this timeless discourse? Can you hear the holy words, Issa b’Medrash Tilim, reverberating throughout your home? Can you hear the conversation between the Yidden and the Aybishter: Yidden: “Master of the world, we want to study Torah day and night, but we do not have the time!” Aybishter: “Fulfill the Mitzvah of Tefillin, and I will consider it as if you had studied Torah day and at night.”

The words are packed with infinite meaning. For many Bar Mitzvah boys, memorizing pages of esoteric text is so stressful that the depth of their meaning often goes untapped. Additionally, as many boys (and their Bar Mitzvah guests) are not necessarily fluent in Yiddish, the language in which the Maamar is traditionally recited, much of the source gets lost in translation.

One boy decided to change all that. Yoseph Scheiner of Palm Beach, Florida did something to revolutionize the Bar Mitzvah Maamar for himself, his family, his guests, and, with Hashem’s help, all Bar Mitzvah boys the world over.

In preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, Yoseph studied the Maamar, page after page﹣and then expressed what he learned in his own words, describing each section through his 13-year-old eyes and with his 13-year-old pen.

To help visualize the heavenly concepts, Yoseph’s sister, Hindy, painted original works of art for each page, illustrating in visuals the ideas that the Maamar addresses and expounds upon.

In honor of Yoseph’s Bar Mitzvah, the Schenier family of Palm Beach published the words and art in a magnificent book, which they distributed to their 300-plus guests as a memento to the celebratory occasion.

The book, entitled “Through The Magnifying Glass” (Asplakaria HaMeirah), contains the original Maamar in Yiddish, Yoseph’s 13-year-old articulation, and Hindy’s reflective artwork. Each two-page spread conveys a concept from the Maamar, so that when one completes the book the Maamar may be internalized.

Indeed, a number of Bar Mitzvah guests were blown away by the Maamar content, COLlive.com was told. One guest marveled at the fact that Hashem puts on Tefillin and that they state the oneness of the Jewish people, just as our states the oneness of Hashem.

In line with the tradition to give a present to the Bar Mitzvah boy, the Schenier family announced that any Bar Mitzvah boy who wants to study and internalize its eternal message, will receive a single copy of the book “Through The Magnifying Glass” free of charge at https://themaamarbook.com