“My name is Tony Westbrook and this past Shabbat (10/24/15) I became Bar Mitzvah’d and celebrated my 28th birthday. I converted 4 years ago and simply becoming Jewish wasn’t enough, I wanted more. I wanted to become a bar mitzvah! I wanted to truly embrace traditions and the mitzvot fully. I began to study with the rabbis at my synagogue here in St. Louis, MO and in studying learned more about myself as a Jew than I ever imagined possible.
My parsha was Lech Lecha. How fitting that a parsha about a journey to becoming one’s authentic self should be mine. Judaism allows me to carve out a space in the world that uniquely and authentically my own.”
– Tony Westbrook