B'nai Mitzvah
Encyclopedia
Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah are Jewish coming of age
rituals. According to Jewish law
, when Jewish boys reach 13, they become responsible for their actions and become a Bar Mitzvah (plural: B'nai Mitzvah). The age for girls is 12. In addition to being considered responsible for their actions from a religious perspective, B'nai mitzvah may be counted towards a minyan
(prayer quorum) and may lead prayer and other religious services in the family and the community. The age of B'nai Mitzvah was selected because it roughly coincides with physical puberty
. Prior to a child reaching Bar or Bat Mitzvah, the child's parents hold the responsibility for the child's actions. After this age, children bear their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law
, tradition
, and ethics
and are able to participate in all areas of Jewish community life.
portion, or both at a Shabbat
or other service (Thursday morning, Monday morning or a festival) when the Torah is read, and it may also involve giving a d'var Torah (a discussion of some Torah
issue). In many communities the rabbi or other community leader blesses the celebrant and a certificate is given. In Orthodox congregations a Bat Mitzvah ceremony will not include the Bat Mitzvah girl leading religious services, as women are ineligible to lead communal religious services in the Orthodox tradition. Some progressive Orthodox congregations do allow women, including Bat Mitzvah girls, to read Torah or lead prayers at women-only prayer groups. Precisely what the Bar/Bat Mitzvah may do during the service varies in Judaism's different denominations and can also depend on the specific practices of various congregations.
Below the age of Bar Mitzvah, children are considered exempt from Jewish law, although they must undertake mitzvahs gradually, under the parent's tutelage, as training and preparation for their coming of age. This can create interesting situations; for example, if a child under the age of Bar Mitzvah ties tzitzits
onto his own tallit
, they may have to be retied after the Bar Mitzvah.
Calling someone to say the Torah blessings during a service is called an Aliyah (from the Hebrew: עֲלִיָּה, from the verb la'alot, לעלות, meaning, "to rise, to ascend; to go up"). The widespread practice is that on the Shabbat one or more days after his or her 13th birthday (or 12th birthday), a boy or girl may recite the blessings for the Torah reading. S/He may also read the week's portion from the Torah (five books of Moses) and Haftara (selections from the books of the Prophets), give a d'var Torah which may include a discussion of that week's Torah portion, or both. S/He may also lead part or all of the morning prayer services. Precisely what the Bar/Bat Mitzvah should lead during the service varies from one congregation to another and is not fixed by Jewish law. Sometimes, and this is the norm in Orthodox circles, the celebration is during another service that includes reading from the Torah, such as a Monday or Thursday morning service, in which case the Bar Mitzvah will also lay tefillin
for the first time publicly.
Some communities or families may delay the celebration for reasons such as availability of a Shabbat during which no other celebration has been scheduled, or due to the desire to permit family to travel to the event. However, this does not delay the onset of rights and responsibilities of being a Jewish adult which comes about strictly by virtue of age.
) for tefillin to be worn for the first time on the 13th birthday. For this reason a strong correlation exists between the Bar Mitzvah ceremony and the commandment of tefillin.
and Reconstructionist, and most Conservative synagogue
s have egalitarian participation, in which women read from the Torah and lead services.
The majority of Orthodox Jews
reject the idea that a woman can publicly read from the Torah or lead prayer services whenever there is a minyan
(quorum
of 10 males) available to do so. However, the public celebration of a girl becoming Bat Mitzvah in other ways has made strong inroads into Modern Orthodox Judaism and also into some elements of Haredi Judaism
. In these congregations, women do not read from the Torah or lead prayer services, but they occasionally lecture on a Jewish topic to mark their coming of age, learn a book of Tanakh
, recite verses from the Book of Esther
or the Book of Psalms, or say prayers from the siddur
. In some modern Orthodox circles, Bat Mitzvah girls will read from the Torah and lead prayer services in a women's tefillah. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
, a prominent Orthodox posek
, has ruled that Bat Mitzvah celebrations are allowable and should not be construed as imitating non-Jewish customs; however, they do not have the status of seudat mitzvah
. Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef holds that it is a seudat mitzvah.
There were occasional attempts to recognize a girl's coming of age in eastern Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, the former in Warsaw (1843) and the latter in Lemberg (1902). The occasion was marked by a party without any ritual in the synagogue.
According to the archivist at the Great Synagogue in Rome, the custom of a young woman being called up in synagogue before the entire community dates back to the early years of the Roman Jewish community approximately 2,300 years ago. The community recognized her as "being of age" and acknowledged her in a public fashion. This would support more modern documents that record an Orthodox Jewish Italian rite for becoming Bat Mitzvah (which involved an "entrance into the minyan" ceremony, in which boys of thirteen and girls of twelve recited a blessing) since the mid-19thcentury. There were also Bat Mitzvahs held in the 19th century in Iraq. All this 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
(his synagogue) in New York City. Judith recited the preliminary blessing, read a portion of that week's Torah portion in Hebrew and English, and then intoned the closing blessing.Kaplan, an Orthodox rabbi who joined Conservative Judaism
and then became the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism
, influenced Jews from all branches of non-Orthodox Judaism, through his position at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
. At the time, most Orthodox rabbis strongly rejected the idea of a Bat Mitzvah ceremony.
prefer a research paper on a topic in Jewish history to mark their coming of age. Secular Jewish Sunday schools and communities—including those affiliated with the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations and the Arbeiter Ring (Workmen's Circle)—encourage the youngsters to select any topic that interests them and relates to the Jewish part of their identities. After extensive, guided research and profound thought, the young people present their findings in any format they may select.
The kibbutz
movement in Israel also encouraged the celebration of the Bar Mitzvah. All those coming to age in the community for that year would take upon themselves a project and do some research in a topic of Jewish or Zionist interest. Today many kibbutz children are opting for a more traditional barmitzvah celebration.
As the ceremony became accepted for females as well as males, many women chose to celebrate the ceremony even though they were much older, as a way of formalizing and celebrating their place in the adult Jewish community.
, 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 very common for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. Many Bar/Bat Mitzvah also receive their first tallit
(a Jewish prayer shawl) from their parents to be used for the occasion and tefillin
where this is appropriate. Jewellery is a common gift for girls at a Bat Mitzvah celebration. Another meaningful gift for the Bat Mitzvah girl are Shabbat candlesticks because it is the duty and honour of the woman to light the candles.
or Talmud
. Passages in the books of Exodus and Numbers
note the age of majority for army service as twenty. The term "Bar Mitzvah" appears first in the Talmud
, the codification of the Jewish oral Torah
compiled in the early first millennium of the common era
, to connote "an [agent] who is subject to scriptural commands," and the age of thirteen is also mentioned in the Mishnah as the time one is obligated to observe the Torah's commandments: "At five years old a person should study the Scriptures, at ten years for the Mishnah
, at 13 for the commandments . . ." The Talmud gives 13 as the age at which a boy's vows are legally binding, and states that this is a result of his being a "man," as required in . The term "Bar Mitzvah", in the sense it is now used, cannot be clearly traced earlier than the 14th century, the older rabbinical term being "gadol" (adult) or "bar 'onshin" (legally responsible for own misdoings). Many sources indicate that the ceremonial observation of a Bar Mitzvah developed in the Middle Ages, however, there are extensive earlier references to thirteen as the age of majority with respect to following the commandments of the Torah, as well as Talmudic references to observing this rite of passage with a religious ceremony, including:
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
rituals. According to Jewish law
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
, when Jewish boys reach 13, they become responsible for their actions and become a Bar Mitzvah (plural: B'nai Mitzvah). The age for girls is 12. In addition to being considered responsible for their actions from a religious perspective, B'nai mitzvah may be counted towards a minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
(prayer quorum) and may lead prayer and other religious services in the family and the community. The age of B'nai Mitzvah was selected because it roughly coincides with physical puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
. Prior to a child reaching Bar or Bat Mitzvah, the child's parents hold the responsibility for the child's actions. After this age, children bear their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
, and ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and are able to participate in all areas of Jewish community life.
Religious rituals
The Bar Mitzvah ceremony involves the young man or woman being called to read the Torah, a HaftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
portion, or both at a Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
or other service (Thursday morning, Monday morning or a festival) when the Torah is read, and it may also involve giving a d'var Torah (a discussion of some Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
issue). In many communities the rabbi or other community leader blesses the celebrant and a certificate is given. In Orthodox congregations a Bat Mitzvah ceremony will not include the Bat Mitzvah girl leading religious services, as women are ineligible to lead communal religious services in the Orthodox tradition. Some progressive Orthodox congregations do allow women, including Bat Mitzvah girls, to read Torah or lead prayers at women-only prayer groups. Precisely what the Bar/Bat Mitzvah may do during the service varies in Judaism's different denominations and can also depend on the specific practices of various congregations.
Adult responsibilities
Whoever becomes Bar or Bat Mitzvah has the responsibilities of an adult Jew under Jewish law. These include- MoralMoralA moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
responsibility for own actions - Eligibility to be called to read from the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
and participate in a MinyanMinyanA minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
(In Orthodox denominations, only males read from the Torah or participate in a MinyanMinyanA minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
) - May possess personal property
- May be legally married according to Jewish lawJewish view of marriageIn Judaism, marriage is viewed as a contractual bond commanded by God in which a man and a woman come together to create a relationship in which God is directly involved. Though procreation is not the sole purpose, a Jewish marriage is also expected to fulfill the commandment to have children. The...
- Must follow the 613 laws613 mitzvotThe 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...
of the Torah and keep the HalakhaHalakhaHalakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
Below the age of Bar Mitzvah, children are considered exempt from Jewish law, although they must undertake mitzvahs gradually, under the parent's tutelage, as training and preparation for their coming of age. This can create interesting situations; for example, if a child under the age of Bar Mitzvah ties tzitzits
Tzitzit
The Hebrew noun tzitzit is the name for specially knotted ritual fringes worn by observant Jews. Tzitzit are attached to the four corners of the tallit and tallit katan.-Etymology:The word may derive from the semitic root N-TZ-H...
onto his own tallit
Tallit
A tallit pl. tallitot is a Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers on weekdays, Shabbat and holidays...
, they may have to be retied after the Bar Mitzvah.
Preparation and study
In many congregations, the years leading up to a Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebration are spent preparing for the event. Many congregations require youngsters to attend a minimum number of Shabbat prayer services at the synagogue, to attend Hebrew School, take on a charity or community service project, and to maintain membership in good standing with the synagogue. In addition to study and preparation offered through the synagogue and Hebrew schools, a cottage industry of B'nai Mitzvah tutors has sprung up, offering services including teaching Hebrew, Torah cantillation, basic Jewish concepts, and coordinating community service projects. Recently various online offerings have also become available.Aliyah to the Torah
Calling someone to say the Torah blessings during a service is called an Aliyah (from the Hebrew: עֲלִיָּה, from the verb la'alot, לעלות, meaning, "to rise, to ascend; to go up"). The widespread practice is that on the Shabbat one or more days after his or her 13th birthday (or 12th birthday), a boy or girl may recite the blessings for the Torah reading. S/He may also read the week's portion from the Torah (five books of Moses) and Haftara (selections from the books of the Prophets), give a d'var Torah which may include a discussion of that week's Torah portion, or both. S/He may also lead part or all of the morning prayer services. Precisely what the Bar/Bat Mitzvah should lead during the service varies from one congregation to another and is not fixed by Jewish law. Sometimes, and this is the norm in Orthodox circles, the celebration is during another service that includes reading from the Torah, such as a Monday or Thursday morning service, in which case the Bar Mitzvah will also lay tefillin
Tefillin
Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
for the first time publicly.
Some communities or families may delay the celebration for reasons such as availability of a Shabbat during which no other celebration has been scheduled, or due to the desire to permit family to travel to the event. However, this does not delay the onset of rights and responsibilities of being a Jewish adult which comes about strictly by virtue of age.
Tefillin
In current practice, boys who belong to branches of Judaism that regularly lay tefillin do not start laying them until they are close to becoming a Bar Mitzvah. The most widespread custom in those branches involves starting to wear tefillin about 30 days before the 13th birthday, although others commence about three months in advance, and there is also a custom (prevalent among chasidimHasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
) for tefillin to be worn for the first time on the 13th birthday. For this reason a strong correlation exists between the Bar Mitzvah ceremony and the commandment of tefillin.
Celebratory meal
B'nai Mitzvah rituals typically include a celebratory meal with family, friends, and members of the community. Others may celebrate in different ways such as taking the bar mitzvah on a special trip or organising some special event in the celebrant's honour.Bat mitzvah
Today most non-Orthodox Jews celebrate a girl's Bat Mitzvah in the same way as a boy's Bar Mitzvah. All ReformReform
Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....
and Reconstructionist, and most Conservative synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s have egalitarian participation, in which women read from the Torah and lead services.
The majority of Orthodox Jews
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
reject the idea that a woman can publicly read from the Torah or lead prayer services whenever there is a minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
(quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
of 10 males) available to do so. However, the public celebration of a girl becoming Bat Mitzvah in other ways has made strong inroads into Modern Orthodox Judaism and also into some elements of Haredi Judaism
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
. In these congregations, women do not read from the Torah or lead prayer services, but they occasionally lecture on a Jewish topic to mark their coming of age, learn a book of Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
, recite verses from the Book of Esther
Book of Esther
The Book of Esther is a book in the Ketuvim , the third section of the Jewish Tanakh and is part of the Christian Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim...
or the Book of Psalms, or say prayers from the siddur
Siddur
A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...
. In some modern Orthodox circles, Bat Mitzvah girls will read from the Torah and lead prayer services in a women's tefillah. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, scholar and posek , who was world-renowned for his expertise in Halakha and was regarded by many as the de facto supreme halakhic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America during his lifetime...
, a prominent Orthodox posek
Posek
Posek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....
, has ruled that Bat Mitzvah celebrations are allowable and should not be construed as imitating non-Jewish customs; however, they do not have the status of seudat mitzvah
Seudat mitzvah
A seudat mitzvah , in Judaism, is an obligatory festive meal, usually referring to the celebratory meal following the fulfillment of a mitzvah , such as a bar mitzvah, a wedding, a brit milah , or a siyum...
. Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef holds that it is a seudat mitzvah.
There were occasional attempts to recognize a girl's coming of age in eastern Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, the former in Warsaw (1843) and the latter in Lemberg (1902). The occasion was marked by a party without any ritual in the synagogue.
According to the archivist at the Great Synagogue in Rome, the custom of a young woman being called up in synagogue before the entire community dates back to the early years of the Roman Jewish community approximately 2,300 years ago. The community recognized her as "being of age" and acknowledged her in a public fashion. This would support more modern documents that record an Orthodox Jewish Italian rite for becoming Bat Mitzvah (which involved an "entrance into the minyan" ceremony, in which boys of thirteen and girls of twelve recited a blessing) since the mid-19thcentury. There were also Bat Mitzvahs held in the 19th century in Iraq. All this may have influenced the American rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan
Mordecai Kaplan
Mordecai Menahem Kaplan , was a rabbi, essayist and Jewish educator and the co-founder of Reconstructionist Judaism along with his son-in-law Ira Eisenstein.-Life and work:...
, 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
Society for the Advancement of Judaism
The Society for the Advancement of Judaism is a synagogue and Jewish organization in New York City, on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Founded in 1922 by Rabbi Mordecai M...
(his synagogue) in New York City. Judith recited the preliminary blessing, read a portion of that week's Torah portion in Hebrew and English, and then intoned the closing blessing.Kaplan, an Orthodox rabbi who joined Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
and then became the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism
Reconstructionist Judaism
Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan . The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. It originated as a branch of Conservative Judaism, before it splintered...
, influenced Jews from all branches of non-Orthodox Judaism, through his position at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
. At the time, most Orthodox rabbis strongly rejected the idea of a Bat Mitzvah ceremony.
Secular Jewish practices
Instead of reading from the Torah, some Humanist JewsHumanistic Judaism
Humanistic Judaism is a movement in Judaism that offers a nontheistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life. It defines Judaism as the cultural and historical experience of the Jewish people and encourages humanistic and secular Jews to celebrate their Jewish identity by participating in Jewish...
prefer a research paper on a topic in Jewish history to mark their coming of age. Secular Jewish Sunday schools and communities—including those affiliated with the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations and the Arbeiter Ring (Workmen's Circle)—encourage the youngsters to select any topic that interests them and relates to the Jewish part of their identities. After extensive, guided research and profound thought, the young people present their findings in any format they may select.
The kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
movement in Israel also encouraged the celebration of the Bar Mitzvah. All those coming to age in the community for that year would take upon themselves a project and do some research in a topic of Jewish or Zionist interest. Today many kibbutz children are opting for a more traditional barmitzvah celebration.
Second Bar Mitzvah
Among some Jews, a man who has reached the age of 83 will customarily celebrate a second bar mitzvah, under the logic that in the Torah it says that a "normal" lifespan is 70 years, so that an 83-year-old can be considered 13 in a second lifetime. This practice has become increasingly common.As the ceremony became accepted for females as well as males, many women chose to celebrate the ceremony even though they were much older, as a way of formalizing and celebrating their place in the adult Jewish community.
Gifts
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 gematriaGematria
Gematria or gimatria is a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like...
, or numerical equivalent of the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
word for "life", ("chai
Chai (symbol)
Chai is a symbol and word that figures prominently in Jewish culture. It consists of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet Chet and Yod .The Hebrew word "living" is related to the term for "life", chaim; ḥayyim....
"), is the number 18. Monetary gifts in multiples of 18 are considered to be particularly auspicious and have become very common for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. Many Bar/Bat Mitzvah also receive their first tallit
Tallit
A tallit pl. tallitot is a Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers on weekdays, Shabbat and holidays...
(a Jewish prayer shawl) from their parents to be used for the occasion and tefillin
Tefillin
Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
where this is appropriate. Jewellery is a common gift for girls at a Bat Mitzvah celebration. Another meaningful gift for the Bat Mitzvah girl are Shabbat candlesticks because it is the duty and honour of the woman to light the candles.
History
The modern method of celebrating becoming a Bar Mitzvah did not exist in the time of the Bible, MishnahMishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
or Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. Passages in the books of Exodus and Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
note the age of majority for army service as twenty. The term "Bar Mitzvah" appears first in the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, the codification of the Jewish oral Torah
Oral Torah
The Oral Torah comprises the legal and interpretative traditions that, according to tradition, were transmitted orally from Mount Sinai, and were not written in the Torah...
compiled in the early first millennium of the common era
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, to connote "an [agent] who is subject to scriptural commands," and the age of thirteen is also mentioned in the Mishnah as the time one is obligated to observe the Torah's commandments: "At five years old a person should study the Scriptures, at ten years for the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, at 13 for the commandments . . ." The Talmud gives 13 as the age at which a boy's vows are legally binding, and states that this is a result of his being a "man," as required in . The term "Bar Mitzvah", in the sense it is now used, cannot be clearly traced earlier than the 14th century, the older rabbinical term being "gadol" (adult) or "bar 'onshin" (legally responsible for own misdoings). Many sources indicate that the ceremonial observation of a Bar Mitzvah developed in the Middle Ages, however, there are extensive earlier references to thirteen as the age of majority with respect to following the commandments of the Torah, as well as Talmudic references to observing this rite of passage with a religious ceremony, including:
- Samuel ha'Katan, at the close of the first century, in the BaraitaBaraitaBaraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
attached to Abot v. 21 (see Machzor Vitry) the completion of the thirteenth year as the age for the commandments ("mitzvot"); and the commentary to the passage refers to LeviLeviLevi/Levy was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi ; however Peake's commentary suggests this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
, the son of JacobJacobJacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
, who, at thirteen, is called "ish" (man; Gen. xxxiv. 25). - Simon Tzemach Duran, in his "Magen Abot" to the Baraita, quotes a MidrashMidrashThe Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
interpreting the Hebrew word ("this") in Isa.Book of IsaiahThe Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
xliii. 21—"This people have I formed for myself, they shall pronounce [ A. V. "set forth"] my praise"—as referring by its numerical valueGematriaGematria or gimatria is a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like...
to those that have reached the age of 13. This seems to imply that, at the time of the composition of the Midrash the, Bar Mitzvah publicly pronounced a benediction on the occasion of his entrance upon maturity. - the Midrash HashkemMidrash HashkemMidrash Hashkem, also known as Midrash ve-Hizhir is a purely haggadic midrash on the Pentateuch. It took its halakic portion from the Talmudic sources, the baraita on the erection of the Tabernacle, the She'eltot of Aḥa of Shabḥa, and the Halakot Gedolot, the She'eltot also being arranged according...
(see Grünhut's "Sefer ha'Likkutim", i. 3a): "The heathen when he begets a son consecrates him to idolatrous practises; the IsraeliteIsraeliteAccording to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
has his son circumcised and the rite of 'pidyon habenPidyon HaBenThe Pidyon HaBen, or Redemption of the first born son, is a mitzvah in Judaism whereby a Jewish firstborn son is redeemed by use of silver coins from his birth-state of sanctity....
' performed; and as soon as he becomes of age he brings him into the synagogueSynagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
and school ('beit ha'knesset' and 'beit ha'midrash') in order that he may praise the name of God, reciting the 'Brachu' (BenedictionBerakhahIn Judaism, a berakhah, bracha, brokhe is a blessing, usually recited at a specific moment during a ceremony or other activity. The function of a berakhah is to acknowledge God as the source of all blessing...
) preceding the reading from the Law." - Masseket Soferim xviii. 5 makes matters even more explicit: "In Jerusalem they are accustomed to initiate their children to fast on the Day of AtonementDay of AtonementDay of Atonement may refer to:*Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement* Day of Atonement , a national day established in 1995 by the Nation of Islam...
, a year or two before their maturity; and then, when the age has arrived, to bring the Bar Mitzvah before the priest or elder for blessing, encouragement, and prayer, that he may be granted a portion in the Law and in the doing of good works. Whosoever is of superiority in the town is expected to pray for him as he bows down to him to receive his blessing." - the MidrashMidrashThe Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
(Gen. R. lxiii.), which, in commenting upon the passage (Gen. xxv. 27), "and the boys grew," says: "Up to thirteen years EsauEsauEsau , in the Hebrew Bible, is the oldest son of Isaac. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and by the minor prophets, Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament later references him in the Book of Romans and the Book of Hebrews....
and JacobJacobJacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
went together to the primary school and back home; after the thirteen years were over, the one went to the beit ha'midrash for the study of the Law, the other to the house of idols. With reference to this, Rabbi Eleazar remarks, 'Until the thirteenth year it is the father's duty to train his boy; after this he must say: "Blessed be He who has taken from me the responsibility [the punishment] for this boy!"" "Why is the evil desire (yetzer haraYetzer HaraIn Judaism, yetzer hara , or yetzer ra refers to the inclination to do evil, by violating the will of God. The term is drawn from the phrase "the imagination of the heart of man [is] evil" , which occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible, at Genesis 6:5 and 8:21.The yetzer hara is not a demonic force, but...
) personified as the great king? (EcclEcclesiastesThe Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
. ix. 14). Because it is thirteen years older than the good desire ('yetzer hatob')." That is to say, the latter comes only with the initiation into duty (Ab. R. N., A. xvi., B. xxx.; Midr. Teh.PsalmsThe Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
ix. 2; EcclEcclesiastesThe Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
. R. ix. 15). - According to Pirke R. El. xxvi., AbrahamAbrahamAbraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
rejected the idolatry of his father and became a worshiper of God when he was thirteen years old. - "It is a mitzvahMitzvahThe primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
for a person to make a meal on the day his son becomes Bar Mitzvah as on the day he enters the wedding canopyChuppahA chuppah , also huppah, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. A chuppah symbolizes the...
." (Orach ChayimOrach ChayimOrach Chayim "manner of life" is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of Halakha , Arba'ah Turim. This section treats all aspects of Jewish law primarily pertinent to the Hebrew calendar...
225:2, Magen Avraham 4)
See also
- Rite of passageRite of passageA rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
- Confirmation
- Brit milahBrit milahThe brit milah is a Jewish religious circumcision ceremony performed on 8-day old male infants by a mohel. The brit milah is followed by a celebratory meal .-Biblical references:...
(or bris) - circumcision and covenant ceremony for baby boys