Sam Horowitz’s Big Fat Viral Bar Mitzvah

By Talia Lavin August 14, 2013

(JTA) — For most boys reaching bar mitzvah age, donning a prayer shawl is exciting enough. But Sam Horowitz of Dallas knew he wanted more.

Horowitz, the star of a newly viral bar mitzvah video (the bar mitzvah actually happened last year), donned a sparkly white suit for the occasion and descended from the ceiling inside a massive chandelier in the lavish ballroom of the Omni Hotel in Dallas.

Sam first came up with the idea after seeing the Cheetah Girls in concert at age seven, according to his mother, Angela Horowitz. The performers descended from the ceiling at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. “He said right then, ‘I wanna do that at my bar mitzvah.’ And he held me to it.”

The bedazzling entrance required no small amount of engineering. A stuntman descended in the chandelier with him, a requirement of the production company, according to Horowitz. The surrounding dancers, expressing their passionate bar mitzvah joy in flapper-style minidresses, were local talent, including cheerleaders for the Dallas Mavericks.

According to Angela, this is the first of many times Sam expects to see his name in lights. “Sam wants to be famous in the entertainment industry,” she said. “He loves to sing and dance. He’s a really passionate kid.”

Sam already has an agent and has appeared in several commercials and on “Barney the Dinosaur.”

Horowitz also emphasized the family’s prominent role in Jewish philanthropy. Indeed, in Sam’s bar mitzvah invitation video, set to the pop hit “Call Me Maybe,” he can be seen dancing in front of the JCC of Dallas, endowed by his grandparents, Steve and Carol Aaron.

So what’s next for Sam? He’s heading to New York City Fashion Week in three weeks. “He loves fashion,” says his mom. “He’s got friends at Neiman Marcus.”

Talia Lavin is a fact checker for the New Yorker and a Forward columnist writing about Jews in American politics.

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