What is the source of this rite of passage?
When does the religious ceremony take place?
What takes place in the synagogue ceremony?
How does a bar/bat mizvah prepare for the ceremony?
What are some other customs and traditions associated with bar/bat mizvah?
Bat mizvah
Further study and reading
What does the term bar or bat mizvah mean?
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The term literally means "son or daughter of the commandment," the adult male (bar) or female (bat) Jew obligated to perform the commandments.[1] The ceremony itself at which a thirteen-year-old boy becomes an adult member of the community has come to be referred to as the bar mizvah ceremony (and likewise for the bat mizvah ceremony for 12-year-old-year old girls in liberal communities).
[3]
What is the source of this rite of passage?
Interestingly, although bar/bat mizvah has become one of the most widely observed Jewish rite of passage, it has no ancient roots or authority. We first read of it in the Mishnah: "Yehuda ben Tema said:... A thirteen year-old becomes obliged to observe the commandments" (Avot 5:25). The Sages of the Talmud gave this religio-legalistic weight, assigning 13 as the age from which a boy is obligated in all the mizvot as any responsible adult. The term bar mizvah in its contemporary connotation does not appear in the Talmud, although it is found as a general term for an adult male with full religious obligations.
The blessing in which (traditionally) the father bestows upon the bar mizvah all the responsibilities for his actions which he, the father, bore until then, is mentioned in rabbinic sources.[2] During the late Middle Ages an elaborate ceremony developed, generally divided into the religious ceremony in the synagogue and the subsequent social celebration.[3]
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When does the religious ceremony take place?
The synagogue ceremony normally takes place among Ashkenazim on the first Sabbath following the actual Hebrew date of the boy's thirteenth birthday. It can also take place on any weekday when the Torah is read (Monday or Thursday during an ordinary week, or on a festival when the Torah is read) following the Hebrew date of the boy's thirteenth birthday.
What takes place in the synagogue ceremony?
The boy (and in liberal congregations the girl as well) reads the Torah portion (in more traditional communities the entire portion, in others only the last maftir section), and also the haftarah (prophetic portion). In some communities the boy reads a special prayer for the occasion. It also became customary for him to deliver a learned derasha (discourse). The custom of addressing the boy in the synagogue is a recent development which is quickly becoming widespread. It is customary for the congregants to throw candies at the bar/bat mizvah after s/he has completed the readings.[4]
Following the 1967 war in Israel, it became popular for bar mizvah boys from Israel and from abroad to hold the ceremony at the Kotel, the Western Wall.
How does a bar/bat mizvah prepare for the ceremony?
The boy (and in modern days the girl as well) studies the cantillation of Torah texts, the melody of which differs for the reading of the Torah or of the haftarah (a selection Prophets which somehow parallels or recalls the Sabbath Torah portion). He also learns to put on the tefillin (phylacteries). In some communities, the bar mizvah boy begins to don tefillin at morning prayers a month before his 13th birthday.
What are some other customs and traditions associated with bar/bat mizvah?
In observant circles, the boy begins to don tefillin daily (except for Sabbaths and holidays) from the time of his bar mizvah celebration. The mizvah of wearing tefillin begins when a boy reaches 13 years of age and continues for the rest of his life. The tefillin are composed of black leather boxes, bound by black leather straps to the left hand and around the head. The boxes contain parchments on which are written Biblical verses relating to the commandment to keeping the words of God as a permanent sign "upon your heart and upon your soul...a sign upon your arm and between your eyes."[5]
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In Sephardic and German communities, Jewish men begin wearing the tallit (prayer shawl) at morning prayers at from age of 13.[6]
Bat mizvah
In many 20th-century communities, girls also celebrate becoming a bat mizvah in special ceremonies, sometimes in the synagogue or elsewhere according to religious affiliation. In more traditional circles, the celebration is limited to a festive meal (se'udat mitzvah) where the girl delivers a speech relating to her religious knowledge. In growing circles, the girl reads the Torah and/or haftarah, demonstrating her becoming a full-fledged members of the adult community
Further study and reading
Bach, Alice and Exum, J. Cheryl.
Moses Ark: Stories from the Bible (Delacorte Press, 1989).
Bamberger, David.
My People: Abba Eban's History of the Jews (Behrman House, 1978-9).
Borowitz, Eugene.
Understanding Judaism (UAHC, 1979).
Donin, Hayim Halevy.
To be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life
(Basic Books, 1972).
Donin, Hayim Halevy.
To Pray as a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service
(Basic Books, 1972).
Drucker, Malka.
Celebrating Life: Jewish Rites of Passage (Holiday House, 1984).
Eban, Abba.
Heritage: Civilization and the Jews (Summit Books, 1986).
Fast, Howard.
The Jews: Story of a People (Dell, 1982).
Fields, Harvey J.
A Torah Commentary for Our Times, Genesis (UAHC, 1990).
Garfield, Evelyn.
Service of the Heart: A Guide to the Jewish Prayer Book (Jason Aronson, 1989).
Girion, Barbara.
Like Everybody Else (Scribners, 1980).
Goodman, Hannah,
The Story of Prophecy (Behrman House, 1965).
Jacobs, Louis.
The Book of Jewish Belief (Behrman House, 1984).
Jacobs, Louis.
The Book of Jewish Practice (Behrman House, 1987).
Katsh, Abraham.
Bar Mitzvah Illustrated (Shengold, 1976).
Klagsbrun, Francine.
Voices of Wisdom: Jewish Ideals and Ethics for Everyday Living
(David Godine, 1989).
Maslin, Simeon.
Gates to the Jewish Life Cycle (NY; CCAR, 1979).
Metter, Bert.
Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah: How Jewish Boys and Girls Come of Age.
(Clarion Books, 1984).
Paterson, Moira, ed.
The Bar Mitzvah Book (Praeger, 1975).
Pfeiffer, Susan Beth.
Turning Thirteen (Scholastic, 1988).
Prager, Dennis and Telushkin, Joseph.
The Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 1986).
Prager, Janice and Lepoff, Arlene.
Why be Different? A Look into Judaism (Behrman, 1986).
Silverman, William B.
The Sages Speak: Rabbinic Wisdom and Jewish Values (Jason Aronson, 1989).
Simon, Solomon and Bial, Morrison David.
The Rabbi's Bible; 3 volumes (Behrman House, 1966).
Steinberg, Milton.
Basic Judaism (Jason Aronson, 1987).
Strassfeld, Michael and Strassfeld, Sharon.
&nbs"111" height="21Catalog (JPS, 1973).
Wouk, Herman,
This is my God (Simon & Schuster, 1986).