Can I Get An Amen? …Please?

When I was preparing for my Bat Mitzvah (the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony, for those unfamiliar), part of the preparations involved performing an act of charity — something larger than just a random act of kindness. In my case, I organized a school supply drive for a local girls’ group home. It went well, and the group home wanted to thank me, so they invited me for dinner.

Everyone was very nice, and as we sat down to dinner, the staff member in charge announced that they were going to say Grace. Everyone bowed their heads and went quiet, so I followed suit.

I would like to reiterate here that I was and am Jewish, and at thirteen, I had never in my life done the whole “saying Grace” thing before, though I was at least aware that the practice existed. I assumed that there would be some sort of signal that we should lift our heads again and start eating.

After a minute or two, I felt like this was going on for an awfully long time, so I peeked up, only to find that everyone at the table was staring at me. One of the girls piped up.

Girl: “So… are you done?”

It turned out there was not a signal.

Being a young teen, I was mortified.

Me: “Oh! I’ve never said Grace before. I thought someone would say something when it was time to eat!”

Then, the staff member had a lightbulb moment and clapped a hand to her forehead.

Staff Member: “Oh, duh! That’s the whole reason you’re here!“

The dinner from that point was very nice, and everyone happily forgave my faux pas as they realized that they should have explained first… but I still can’t make homemade tacos without thinking about the time I learned how saying Grace worked!