Bar/Bat Mitzvahs

The term "Bar Mitzvah" appears first in the Talmud to describe an individual who is subject to scriptural commands. Likewise, in the Mishnah, the age of thirteen is also mentioned as the time one is obligated to observe the Torah's commandments. The Talmud gives thirteen as the age at which a boy's vows are legally binding, and states that this is a result of his being a "man".

Therefore, according to Jewish law, when children reach the age of majority (thirteen for boys, twelve for girls) they become responsible for their actions, and become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. In many Conservative and Reform synagogues, girls celebrate their Bat Mitzvahs at age 13, along with boys. Prior to this, the child's parents are spiritually responsible for their children.

So what happens for boys during Bar Mitzvah?

Boys are called to say the Torah blessings during a service which is called an Aliyah. Generally, on Shabbat closest to his 13th birthday, a boy may recite the blessings for the Torah reading, and may also read the week's portion from the Torah (five books of Moses) and Haftara (selections from the books of the Prophets). He may also give a d'var Torah, which can include a discussion of that week's Torah portion. It is also possible for him to lead part or all of the morning prayer services. Quite clearly this is a great responsibility and honor for the young man.

The details of which duties a Bar Mitzvah should undertake vary significantly from one congregation to another, and is not fixed by Jewish law. Sometimes the celebration is during another service that includes reading from the Torah, such as a Monday or Thursday morning service, a Shabbat afternoon service, or a morning service on Rosh Chodesh, the New Moon.

And for young women - what happens for Bat Mitzvahs?

Except among Italian Jews, no ceremony parallel to a boy's Bar Mitzvah ceremony developed for girls before the modern age. In Eastern Europe - particularly Poland and Ukraine - there were occasional attempts to recognize a girl's coming of age during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, the occasion was marked by a party without any ritual in the synagogue.

The Orthodox Jewish Italian rite for becoming Bat Mitzvah, which involved an "entrance into the minyan" ceremony in which girls of twelve recite a blessing, has been documented since the mid-nineteenth century and may have influenced the American Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, who held the first public celebration of a Bat Mitzvah in America, for his daughter Judith, on March 18, 1922 at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism in New York City.

And what about the celebration?

Whether a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah, the service is often followed by a celebratory meal with family, friends, and members of the community. Sometimes the celebratory meal can eclipse the religious ceremony itself, often rivaling a wedding celebration in extravagance. And as with weddings, it is common to give the celebrant a gift! Traditionally, common gifts included religious or educational books, religious items, writing implements, or savings bonds, gift certificates or money. Cash gifts are commonplace in recent times and it has become customary to give cash in multiples of 18 - the gematria - which are considered to be particularly auspicious!