Amy Handler - Judith Rosenberg 1984 B'not Mitzvah Revisited

The Archives asked Judith Rosenberg to reminisce on her joint b'not mitzvah with Amy Handler, and bring us up-to-date on their lives. Here is what she wrote:

Amy and I continue to maintain a close friendship, as do our families.  She is currently living in Atlanta with her husband and two children, and teaches drama at a charter school there.  After working in marketing for several years, I’ve been working professionally in the Jewish community for BBYO, Inc. since 2005 and live here in Knoxville.   [See the Ha’Kol article, January, 2009, page 5]

       Thank you for giving us the opportunity to reminisce about our b’not mitzvah.  It was a fun and exciting milestone for both of us.  Rabbi Mark Greenspan at Heska Amuna was a little hesitant to let two energetic best friends (and, let’ s face it, overly talkative teenagers) share the stage.  His fears were somewhat confirmed when we were practicing at Shabbat services the week before our ceremony.   One of us made a mistake, which ultimately led to us laughing hysterically on the bimah.  Rabbi Greenspan had to step in, finish up for us, and assure the congregation that this behavior was NOT a sneak preview of things to come.  We managed to pull it together for the big event the following weekend and we both did well.  Marilyn Burnett catered the luncheon at shul that followed...complete with a HUGE purple balloon centerpiece...our favorite color.