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FERVOR FOR FAITH
By LINDA M. LINONIS
youngstown
A lifelong love of learN- ing, instilled and nurtured by her father, has brought Judith Gross to her bat mitzvah.
The 90-year-old North Side resident marked the milestone birthday on Tuesday and will become bat mitvah in a service today at Congregation Rodef Sholom, where she has belonged for 56 years.
Traditionally, bat mitzvah for girls and bar mitzvah for boys takes place around the 13th birthday. Gross said her parents, Abraham and Anna Funk, though of Jewish heritage, “didn’t believe in organized religion.” “The first time I was in a synagogue was the day before my wedding,” she said.
That didn’t mean she didn’t learn about Judaism. “My Daddy taught me by example ... about being honest, helping those in need, being your brother’s keeper and valuing life,” she said. “He taught me about Jewish philanthropy, writers and musicians. He mourned the millions lost in the Holcaust.”
Her father also told her about Judith Kaplan, the first Jewish girl to become bat mitzvah in 1922, the year Gross was born. “Rabbi Kaplan saw the importance of a girl being educated and so did my father,” she said. She graduated summa cum laude from Youngstown State University.
When Judith Funk married Arnold Gross in 1945 and they had a family, synagogue and Jewish traditions were a part of their lives. They lived a Jewish lifestyle and faith was a part of it. “Among my fondest memories are Friday night dinners when we lit the candles and offered the blessing,” she said, adding it gratifies her that her family treasures the memories. Her husband died in 1986.
Fervor for her faith came later. “I‘m passionately in love with Judaism,” Gross said, but noted that “awakening” came in her late 40s. “I took a class in the Old Testament from a Protestant minister,” she recalled, smiling at the irony of the source but citing her interest in learning. “It made me fall in love with all the wonderful things about Judaism.”
Her zeal for Judaism and zest for learning motivated her during the year-long preparation for the bat mitzvah. Gross said her son, Michael Gross of Durham, N.C., tutored her by phone on Sundays on the Hebrew letters and vowels. When he was unable to do it, his wife, Mary, filled in. “I played hookey during March madness,” said Gross, an avid sports fan.
As for why she’s tackling the project at this stage of her life, Gross admitted she doesn’t have a definitive answer. The bat mitzvah preparation evolved from her basic love of learning.
She has studied with Rabbi Franklin Muller of Rodef Sholom for the service and has attended multiple educational classes he has led.
Rabbi Muller also encouraged Gross to take a Florence Melton Adult Mini Class at the Jewish Community Center. The adult learning class enables participants to gain Jewish literacy through a broad curriculum created by scholars and educators at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
“Judith is a shining example that you’re never too old to learn and grow in your faith,” the rabbi said. “Judaism is a lifelong process of growing spiritually. Judith is living the ideal of lifelong learning.”
Though Gross admitted being “scared,” she’s confident in her ability to read the Torah after all the study. She will read passages about Moses and how he felt overwhelmed by complaints of his followers while in the desert. Moses “complains” to God, who tells him to gather 10 wise elders from the tribes and delegate responsibilities. The nonagenarian said she views the passages as a “life lesson” about how to delegate tasks and responsibilities in daily living.
The bat mitzvah service is special unto itself but will be made more so by the attendance of family and friends. Coming to wish her well and offer support are her daughters, Ann Roque of Las Vegas; Mary Jo Gross and Janet Gross, both of Denver; and son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Mary Gross; and her three grandchildren. “Old friends of 60 years from out of town and children of friends I’ve lost are coming,” she said.
In her bat mitzvah speech, Gross said she planned to talk about her father, who sold work clothes in his small store near U.S. Steel and how he got the family through the Great Depression. “I have so much to be thankful for in my life,” she said. She has asked guests to donate to Second Harvest Food Bank in lieu of gifts.
Gross said a trip to Israel when she was 86 years old “fulfilled a dream.” Memories of Haifa, which she described as “so beautiful,” and the wall in Jerusalem remain strong.
She was health coordinator for 15 years at Mill Creek Day Care Center, working with Sister Jerome, and retired at 75. It was a rewarding experience.