Bar and bat mitzvah
A bar mitzvah (masc.) or bat mitzvah (fem.)[a] is a coming-of-age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they are said to "become" b'nai mitzvah, at which point they begin to be held accountable for their own actions. Traditionally, the father of a bar or bat mitzvah offers thanks to God that he is no longer punished for his child's sins.
Native name
Bar mīṣvā: בַּר מִצְוָה
Bat mīṣvā: בַּת מִצְוָה
- Orthodox boys: 13 years old, girls: 12 years old
- Reform and Conservative boys and girls: 12 or 13 years old
Coming-of-age ceremony
Reaching the age of bar or bat mitzvah signifies becoming a full-fledged member of the Jewish community
In Orthodox communities, boys become bar mitzvah at 13 and girls become bat mitzvah at 12. In most Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative communities, the milestone is 13 regardless of gender.[4] After this point, children are also held responsible for knowing Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics, and are able to participate in all areas of Jewish community life to the same extent as adults. In some Jewish communities, men's and women's roles differ in certain respects. For example, in Orthodox Judaism, once a boy turns 13, it is permitted to count him for the purpose of determining whether there is a prayer quorum, and he may lead prayer and other religious services in the family and the community.[5]
Bar mitzvah is mentioned in the Mishnah[6] and the Talmud. Some classic sources identify the age at which children must begin to participate in the ritual of fasting on Yom Kippur as 13 for boys and 12 for girls. The age of b'nai mitzvah roughly coincides with the onset of puberty.[7] The bar/bat mitzvah ceremony is usually held on the first Shabbat after the birthday on which the child reaches the eligible age.
Etymology[edit]
Bar (בַּר) is a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic word meaning "son" (בֵּן, ben in Hebrew), while bat (בַּת), in Hebrew, means "daughter". Mitzvah (מִצְוָה) is Hebrew for "commandment" or "law". Thus, bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah literally translate to "son of commandment" and "daughter of commandment", respectively. However, in rabbinical usage, the word bar means "under the category of" or "subject to". Bar mitzvah therefore translates to "[one] who is subject to the law". Although the term is commonly used to refer to the ritual itself, the phrase originally refers to the person.
Significance[edit]
Reaching the age of bar or bat mitzvah signifies becoming a full-fledged member of the Jewish community with the responsibilities that come with it. These include moral responsibility for one's own actions; eligibility to be called to read from the Torah and lead or participate in a minyan; the right to possess personal property and to legally marry on one's own according to Jewish law; the duty to follow the 613 laws of the Torah and keep the halakha; and the capacity to testify as a witness in a beth din (rabbinical court) case.
Many congregations require pre-bar mitzvah children to attend a minimum number of Shabbat prayer services at the synagogue, study at a Hebrew school, take on a charity or community service project and maintain membership in good standing with the synagogue. In addition to study and preparation offered through the synagogue and Hebrew schools, bar mitzvah tutors may be hired to prepare the child through the study of Hebrew, Torah cantillation and basic Jewish concepts.
According to Rabbi Mark Washofsky, "The Reform Movement in North America has struggled over the bar/bat mitzvah. At one time, this ceremony was on the verge of extinction in Reform congregations. Most of them preferred to replace bar/bat mitzvah with confirmation, which they considered a more enlightened and appropriate ceremony for modern Jews. Yet the enduring popularity of bar/bat mitzvah prevailed and today, in our communities, bar/bat mitzvah is 'virtually universally observed' by Reform Jews."[21]
In 2012, concern about the high post-bar/bat mitzvah drop-out rate led the Union for Reform Judaism to launch the B'nai Mitzvah Revolution, an effort to shift Reform congregations away from "the long-held assumption that religious school is about preparing kids for their bar/bat mitzvah" and focus instead on teaching them how to become committed and involved members of the Jewish community.[22]
Gifts[edit]
Bar or bat mitzvah celebrations have become an occasion to give the celebrant a commemorative gift. Traditionally, common gifts include books with religious or educational value, religious items, writing implements, savings bonds (to be used for the child's college education), gift certificates, or money. Gifts of cash have become commonplace in recent times. As with charity and all other gifts, it has become common to give in multiples of 18, since the gematria, or numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word for "life", ("chai"), is the number 18. Monetary gifts in multiples of 18 are considered to be particularly auspicious and have become common for the bar and bat mitzvah. Many b'nai mitzvah also receive their first tallit from their parents to be used for the occasion and tefillin where this is appropriate. Jewelry is a common gift for girls at a bat mitzvah celebration. Another gift for the bat mitzvah girl is Shabbat candlesticks because it is the duty and honor of the woman to light the candles.[57]
