I Have Nothing Against Getting Rich, But This is Offensive!

According to the NY Daily News, military contractor David H. Brooks just spent--are you sitting down--ten million dollars on his daughter's Bat Mitzvah! Brooks says the figures are exaggerated, but he doesn't deny that it involved private jets, multiple performances by rock superstars, and a very expensive swanky New York venue.

A Bat Mitzvah is a religious coming-of-age ceremony. A teenager (usually--I've been to the Bat Mitzvah of a woman in her 70s) leads a section of the prayer service, reads from the Torah (the five original books of the Bible) and chants a Haftorah (a section from one of the later Old Testament books such as the Prophets). Usually there's a party afterward. It should not be about ostentatious displays of wealth and one-upping your neighbors.

With several hundred people attending, renting one venue for the ceremony/reception and another to prepare the food (an elaborate full luncheon), hiring a couple of workers, my daughter and two friends became Bat Mitzvah a couple of years ago. If memory serves me correctly, this whole event cost around $1800, or $600 for each participating family. And it was a great event--I daresay probably a good deal more spiritually meaningful than this obscene $10 million blowout. I can only imagine what her wedding will be like. Maybe Dennis Kozlowski, disgraced CEO of Tyco known for his lavish parties, will do the catering.