Parshat Va’yikra

When I was 13 years old many many years ago I was bat mitzvah. This is a coming-of-age ceremony for Jewish children. The ceremony took place in Connecticut where I grew up. Allusions to where I live now are to Mendocino California. 13-year-olds are given a portion of the Torah to learn and to read in Hebrew. My portion was Va’yikra, the first five chapters of Leviticus in the Old Testament.