North Star with Ellin Bessner This 80-year-old Montrealer just celebrated her bat mitzvah for the first time
Ruth Cooperstock had just turned 80 years old when she became the oldest Canadian woman to ever have a bat miztvah. The celebration wasn't common for girls in 1950s Winnipeg, where Cooperstock grew up; but this year, she was determined to make up for lost time.
Cooperstock first studied on her own, then with an adult b'nai mitzvah class class at Congregation Dorshei Emet, as part of the Reconstructionist movement’s program marking the 100th anniversary of the first bat mitzvah in North America. Despite losing her voice for four months and working with a speech therapist to get it back, not to mention the trials of living through the pandemic, Cooperstock is finally answering the call—68 years late. She joins to share her story of inspiration and perseverance.
What we talked about:
- Watch Ruth Cooperstock's bat mitzvah
- Learn about Dorshei Emet's adult b'nai mitzvah program
- Listen to The CJN Daily episode about Holocaust denial being debated in Parliament
- Read about Mickey Heller in The CJN
Credits
The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We're a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.