Today is Lia’s Bat Mitzvah.

Most of the 13-year-olds and 14-year-olds who are here have been through a day like this, or soon will be. After you have finished your responsibilities during the Shabbat morning service, your thoughts may turn to gifts.

We think about the many envelopes that float around, or are stuffed in pockets of dads on Bat Mitzvah nights. That is just one type of gift we think about on a Bat Mitzvah.

But, Lia, I think we need to think tonight about a different type of gift, and that is the gifts you receive from a higher authority, the gifts that God has given you as a person.

I was trying to think of a way to remember the many gifts that you have. I decided to focus on the letters of your name.

Since you have a very short name, it’s guaranteed that this will be a short speech.

We’ll start with "L."

The first gift that God has given you is Leadership.

The gift of leadership skills is evident in your recent election as Secretary of the Solomon Schechter Middle School student council. [Applause!]

In many other activities in school, you show a high degree of leadership skills. But with the quality of Leadership, also comes the quality of Responsibility.

You also have shown responsibility in your job as editor of the Solomon Schechter school newspaper. You know the right time to take the right action when you are working with other people.

Next, is the letter "I, ":and that refers to the gift of Intelligence.

We know that you’re smart on tests and smart in class, but you also have another "I" quality and that is Intuition.

You get the point.

Only Lia could be on vacation in Lake Geneva, as she discussed this morning in her D’var Torah, and see the starts in the sky, and be reminded of something in Torah.

You see the humor and you see the poetry in nearly every situation.

Finally, the last letter of your name is "A," and that stands for Action.

You and your friends from Solomon Schechter have excellent synagogue skills. As a person of Action, you will be called on to lead services, and to be a leadership of the Jewish community.

At the same time that you take Action, you also have the quality of Timing. You know when to act and you know when not to act.

When we call your name, Lia, it’s never just "Lia." It’s "Lia!" or "Lia!!!"

And it’s usually Michael whose foot is getting stepped on in some way by you, who is saying "Lia!!! - it’s my couch," or "It’s my remote control."

When we pronounce your name that way, it sounds as if there’s really a fourth letter, an exclamation point.

I can’t think of L-I-A without an exclamation point. It stands for Enthusiasm. You have a bright, cheerful and sunny disposition. You’re always enthusiastic about everything.

May you never lose the qualities of Leadership, Intuition, Action and especially Enthusiasm.

Mazel Tov on your Bat Mitzvah!