Eden Channels Wizard of Oz ‘For Good’

Eden Levine, a King Middle School student, celebrated her bat mitzvah at Ahavath Achim Synagogue on Dec 6, 2025. Many months prior to that, she began social action by putting together care bags to those in need. And months after, coming up in March, she will prepare a meal for Rebecca’s Tent Women’s Shelter.

In April of 2025, she hosted a play as part of Out of Hand Theater’s 2025 season of “Shows in Homes.” Eden also displayed a playful imaginative side by wearing ruby slippers and a sequined “Elphaba dress” to relate her positive thinking to the movie, “Wicked.” By the end of bat mitzvah week, Eden had already raised close to $2,000 for Rebecca’s Tent. The week after the bat mitzvah, Eden and brother, Emet, sang with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s community chorus, Atlanta Young Singers. Mom, Bonnie, said, “It was certainly a busy week.”

In Parsha Vayishlach, “Wicked,” as the untold story of the “Wizard of Oz” from the villain’s perspective, showed Eden the challenges of being different and that things are rarely as simple as “wicked” or “good.”

She said, “I am reminded of ‘Wicked’ when I read about the reunion between twin brothers, Esav and Ya’akov. As Dorothy said in, ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ there’s no place like home. Everyone deserves a home, and some people don’t have one. Not having a home does not mean someone is wicked. People experiencing homelessness are often misjudged or stigmatized by society. By choosing to help instead of judge, you follow the message in Vayishlach to look deeper.”

Rabbis Laurence Rosenthal and Eric Feld were on hand. Eden davened the entire Saturday service. The whole family (mom, Bonnie, and dad, Mike, are accomplished musicians, and younger Emet is a prodigy percussionist; and close friends, Mindy and Andy Margolis, led P’sukey D’zimra, with harmonies, as well as the service the night before (including some original melodies by Mike and Bonnie who perform as Sun Moon Pie.

Eden read from Parshat Vayishlach, wearing a tallit she picked out while visiting the Jewish Museum in New York City. Her yad (pointer) was a gift from her mother’s hometown rabbi, Rabbi Sylvia Scholnick of Williamsburg, Va.

Eden led Shacharit, accompanied by the Ahavath Achim meshorerim (spiritual singers) and all of Musaf accompanied by the Ahavath Achim children’s choir. Eden was enjoying the service and joked as her parents joined her at the bimah as she asked, “You again?”

She also commented that her mom may have printed another version of her English remarks. The Saturday Kiddish theme was, of course, “Wicked,” carrying through pink and green, into the night’s party, “Over the Rainbow,” in rainbow colors. For a theatrical entrance, the family dressed as “Wizard of Oz” characters.

Party DJ was Vlad (Party Express) who kept things lively, but Eden holds Camp Ramah songs like “Sha la la,” as favorites and most dear as local friends and those from Florida joined in. Party planner Melissa Miller was creative with the “Wicked” theme like tote bags with homemade charm bracelets with charms symbolizing the story’s characters and setting: brain, heart, courage, and home.

The party kicked off with a musical Havdalah, featuring Ahavath Achim’s children’s choir singing, “Any Dream Will Do,” from, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” inspired by the following week’s Parshat Vayeshev. After Havdalah, The Wizard, also known as beloved Ahavath Achim congregant Wayne Neuwirth, treated everyone to a parking lot fireworks spectacle which he does annually at AA’s Sparks of Light event.

“What an unforgettable bat mitzvah gift!” declared Bonnie.

Eden’s caterer was Tropics’ Hector Sampson who featured a latke bar and traditional sufganiyot for Chanukah. “Just like old time NYC donuts,” said Eden’s bubbe!

Additional Vendors

Wizard of Oz Charm bracelets: Amazon, put together by Aunt Becky
Decorator: Balloonacy
Branded Favors: Paper Matters
Logo: ChatGPT + Paper Matters + Michael Levine
Photo Booth: LetsBoothIt
Eden’s Hair: Cortney Nelms (@crafted.by.cortney.hair)
Video Presentation: Emet and Michael Levine