Winifred S. Davis will become a bat mitzvah at Temple Beth Hillel in Richmond on Saturday. Then, in August, she will turn 95.
“I just decided last September that I want to do something to occupy my mind,” the Pinole resident said. “I’m living in an independent living facility, and they don’t have many activities here.”
The East Bay woman never had a bat mitzvah as a teen and didn’t grow up with a Jewish education. Now she attends services at Beth Hilel twice a month, and also belongs to Congregation Beth El in Berkeley — both Reform synagogues.
She gets on the phone with her tutor and Hebrew teacher regularly and will chant from the Torah. How has the process been?
“Oh, my God, I can’t begin to tell you,” she said. “It’s been very difficult. I have to make flashcards and put them on my night table and look at the letters before I go to sleep, and the first thing when I get up in the morning.”
Davis acknowledges that she is “definitely” someone who embraces challenges. “That’s the kind of person I am.” She earned a master of arts degree and a specialist degree in education. She taught kindergarten for 30 years in New York and became a specialist in reading.
Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller of Beth Hillel said that each time she meets with Davis, “she asks a deep question or shows how she has been paying attention to something happening in our community and shares her view. We’re excited to celebrate Winnie and meet her family.”
Davis’ two daughters, son and three grandchildren will be coming to the bat mitzvah, along with 25 to 30 guests.
This will be her first time to become a bat mitzvah, but not her last. Davis is also enrolled in an adult b’nai mitzvah class at Beth El.
“Winnie is one of our most dedicated adult learners,” said Rabbi Ira Rosenberg of Beth El. “Her excitement around Jewish learning and being a part of Jewish community is an inspiration to me and everyone she encounters. We are excited to celebrate all of Winnie’s milestones over the coming months and can’t wait for her to be called to Torah in front of our entire community in the spring of 2027.”