[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19031]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 RECOGNIZING SARAH ELISABETH ENGLAND ON THE OCCASION OF HER BAT MITZVAH

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 16, 2014

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
thirteenth birthday and Bat Mitzvah celebration of Sarah Elisabeth 
England. In the company of her parents Lori Slass and Bill England, as 
well as her grandparents, uncles, classmates, and numerous friends and 
neighbors, Sarah celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at Congregation KolAmi in 
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, on December 13, 2014, her thirteenth 
birthday. Sarah is a wonderful young lady, and the ceremony she led 
with Rabbi Elliot Holin was rich in both tradition and meaning. Sarah's 
thoughtful, articulate, and touching comments during the ceremony were 
a particular highlight of the celebration, and I would like to share 
them here so everyone can become familiar with this promising young 
lady.


                       sarah england's dvar torah

       I enjoy being Jewish because of the feeling that everyone 
     is friends and family. I am proud to be part of a tradition 
     that has been going on for thousands of years. And I am glad 
     that I am learning about the tragedies that have happened to 
     our people. Don't get me wrong, I hate the idea that this 
     stuff has happened to us, but I am glad that we are not 
     trying to hide them from our younger generations. These are 
     things that cannot be allowed to forget. For if the world is 
     to forget, it will be much easier for it to happen again.
       My favorite holy day is Tu b'Shevat, the New Year of Trees. 
     Even though it's not as popular as say, Rosh Hashanah, it is 
     an entire holiday wrapped around something I love, nature!
       My Mitzvah Project is helping women get business clothing 
     so they can get back up on their feet to find jobs and other 
     opportunities. I have done a drive to collect clothing and I 
     will be volunteering to separate clothing in the coming 
     months.
       A particularly transforming personal experience I have had 
     was when I realized how poorly the LGBTQ community is 
     treated, and I was appalled. I could not believe that people 
     would treat each other like this. People complain about 
     something that is racist or sexist, but they overlook how 
     people treat people who just love each other. When I found 
     out that my family members were part of the LGBTQ community, 
     I couldn't stop smiling. I am so proud of them and everyone 
     who keeps fighting. I hope that marrying someone you truly 
     love is soon legal in all states.
       I chose to chant verses from Genesis 37:5-8 and 19-24 of my 
     Torah Portion. It is about Joseph telling his brothers his 
     dream, and their plans for revenge. The narrative warns us 
     not to talk about something, even a dream, that shows you 
     overpowering someone. It could make them mad and ruin your 
     relationship with them. It also shows that the response of 
     hatred could make you do things that you might not mean to 
     do, but in the heat and anger of the moment, might make you 
     do crazy things.
       My two favorite prayers are the Avote v'Imahote and the 
     G'vurote. Even though my beliefs in god have changed, I think 
     these prayers truly help us understand how he tries to use 
     his powers for good.
       If I were to re-write the Avote, it would read, ``Thank 
     You, God, for our mothers and fathers from the beginning. 
     Thank You for creating us. Thank You for being You. Thank You 
     for Your love and kindness. We are forever grateful. Blessed 
     are You, God, helper and shield of Sarah.''
       If I were to re-write the G'vurote, it would read: ``Thank 
     You, God, for life. Thank You for creation. Thank You for 
     freedom. Thank You for Your many mighty acts. Thank You for 
     everything. Who is like You: creator and destroyer of life? 
     Who is like You, all-powerful being?
       As for my relationship with God, it's not that I don't 
     believe in something, it's just that if God really cared 
     about all of their creations, then why are people starving 
     and going to war and committing mass murder? I don't think 
     that God functions in the way that some people think God 
     does. I think that God just created us and said, ``Have 
     fun!'' To quote Rabbi in a note he left me during our time in 
     writing this speech: ``the interesting and fascinating thing 
     about free will is that we make the choices and bear the 
     responsibility, but it is always easier to point our finger 
     outward to blame God or others, rather than inward to take 
     responsibility for what we have done wrong as individuals/
     community/society''.
       I was motivated to study for my Bat Mitzvah by my mother. 
     She has helped me so much during my studies, and even made 
     sure I was listening to the recordings of my portion during 
     my concussion. The idea of being able to say that I have had 
     my Bat Mitzvah is awesome! And I don't mind having my 
     thirteenth birthday party on the same day. Thank you mom, 
     Rabbi, and everyone who has ever helped me with my Hebrew, 
     you are the truly amazing people in this world.
       Rabbi Holin asked me to talk about some of the greatest 
     challenges facing our country or the world, and I think it is 
     the need for greater gun control. The idea that someone can 
     obtain a weapon capable of murdering men, women, and children 
     with great futures to be had, just makes me sick. It is wrong 
     that people can acquire guns so easily. I would pass a law 
     that states, ``To own a gun, you must undergo multiple mental 
     and physical tests administered by a higher force''. A police 
     member or maybe a new job could be created specially trained 
     in this task. I would also ask that anyone who owns a gun at 
     the moment to also take the test so that we know if they are 
     able to have one.
       Some personal goals I have are being able to fully recover 
     from my concussion, being able to see the LGBTQ community 
     fully accepted as who they are, seeing gun violence stopping, 
     and getting into a good college.
       I would like to take a moment now to thank all of the 
     people that have helped me to be where I am today, my mom and 
     dad, Rabbi Holan, Rebecca Schwartz, Mrs. Holtzman, Mr. 
     Monblatt, and anyone else who helped me during this journey 
     and during my concussion.

                          ____________________