Bar Mitzvah Speech Writing 101
The Challenge: Can you write a better Bar Mitzvah speech than the first draft shown below? If so, how about writing a better one that Chat GPT? If you think you can do that, how about beating the final draft below. Good luck and my the Schwartz be with you.
The First Draft
“Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is a story about a girl who goes to a home of three bears while they are out. When she gets inside, she sees there are three bowls of porridge on the table. She goes to the first one, and it is too hot. Then she goes to the second one, and it is too cold. Then she goes to the third one, and it is just right. She does the same thing with three chairs and then three beds. When the bears return, they find her in their home, and Goldilocks runs away.
This story reminds me of my own life where I like things that are just right. Just like Goldilocks, I don’t like things that are too hot or too cold. It is like the time I tried to eat a hot pocket right after I cooked it in the microwave. It burned the roof of my mouth. It also reminds me how I like a bed that fits me. When I try to sleep in other beds, they just aren’t the same.
This story also relates to events that are happening today in our world. Sometime, people will still break into houses and try to steal people’s food. And if there is no food around, they might even take the pets to eat them.
We can learn from this story. If there are people in need of food or beds, instead of forcing them to break into houses, we should offer to make them food and help buy them beds. And Goldilocks should learn not to take things that aren’t hers. Maybe if she asked nicely, the bears would have shared their porridge and beds.
The AI Draft
“Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is a classic tale about a young girl who stumbles upon the home of three bears while they are out. Drawn by curiosity, Goldilocks enters the house and explores the bears’ belongings. She samples three bowls of porridge, finding one too hot, one too cold, and the third just right. She tests three chairs and sleeps in three beds, finding only one of each to her liking. When the bears return, they are shocked to find her in their home, and Goldilocks flees in fright. The story conveys themes of curiosity, boundaries, and balance in life.
In many ways, this story echoes moments from my own life where I have sought to find balance—particularly in my school and play-time balance. Just like Goldilocks, I’ve found myself experimenting with different approaches and options, sometimes going too far one way or another before finding the “just right” path. Whether it was spending all weekend playing video games or having to study my Hebrew prayers non-stop since I was behind, these moments have taught me that the pursuit of balance is often a trial-and-error process.
The Goldilocks story also holds relevance to the world today. Society grapples with finding “just right” solutions to many issues, be it in politics, climate policy, or economic stability. For example, when creating strategies to combat global warming, the challenge lies in balancing environmental needs with economic and social considerations. We see this dilemma in energy policies, where finding a sustainable yet feasible solution can feel akin to Goldilocks’ quest to find what fits. The story underscores the importance of pursuing solutions that are neither too extreme nor inadequate, urging us to seek balanced approaches that are just right for everyone.
Ultimately, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” leaves us with a simple yet powerful lesson: finding balance is not always immediate; it often requires exploration, mistakes, and learning. Perhaps, the real question we should take away is, how do we strike that balance—whether in our personal lives, within society, or even in our daily interactions—without overstepping the boundaries of others?
(Used Chat GPT v4.0 and replaced the [add personal experience here] with the experience show in paragraph 2)
The Final Draft
“Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is a classic tale about a young girl who stumbles upon an empty home while strolling through the woods. I am not sure what kind of parents let her stroll through a bear-filled woods alone, but that is besides the point. Noticing the house was empty, Goldilocks enters the house and finds a pleasant surprise in the kitchen. In front of her are three bowls of porridge. She tries the first one, but it is too hot. She tries the second one, but it is too cold. She tries the third one, and it is just right so she eats it. She does a similar thing with three chairs and then three beds; sleeping in the one that is just right. The bears arrive home to find her in the bed and she abruptly flees.
This story has themes that relate to my life. An ongoing theme of this story is boundaries. Whether it is the hard, physical boundary of the house or the metaphorical boundaries between hot, cold, and just right. I find boundaries at home, boundaries at school, and even boundaries at Temple. Some of them are morally justified to cross like sneaking a peek at my phone at the end of class. Other s boundaries are not to be crossed like wearing shorts and a tee-shirt to my Bar Mitzvah (right Rabbi?). I can understand why Goldilocks maybe entered the house. She probably didn’t think it was a boundary she shouldn’t cross. The same things goes for the porridge and beds.
This story also relates to our current lives even though the story is 187 years old. There are boundaries that are being crossed today, that previous generations understood that you just shouldn’t cross. Whether it is Russia invading Crimea or the Ukraine, or politicians not acting with the respect they once acted like. The boundary of conceding when you lose an election, or inviting the winning party into the White House seems not to apply to some people. It is almost like these people need someone to read to them the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
But they may have to do more than just read the story. At first glance, they may think the story is about hot and cold and just right temperatures porridge. That view would not help with setting proper boundaries. I think people need to discuss the story, and talk about why it happened. What could have been done to prevent it? If Goldilocks and the Three Bears have different opinions on boundaries, could they come to agreement on how to set boundaries when they are in the same woods? These are the questions I think about when I think about this story. What do you think about?
