NationMaster - Encyclopedia: B'nai Mitzvah

According to Jewish law, when Jewish children reach the age of maturity (13 years for boys and 12 years for girls in Orthodox synagogues, though it is mainly also celebrated at 13) they become responsible for their actions. At this point a boy is said to become Bar Mitzvah (Hebrew: בר מצוה, "one (m.) to whom the commandments apply"); a girl is said to become Bat Mitzvah (בת מצוה, "one (f.) to whom the commandments apply"), or Bas Mitzvah (in Ashkenazi, or Eastern European Jewish, pronunciation). Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2848 Ã— 2136 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2848 Ã— 2136 pixel, file size: 1. ... The wall by night â€œWailing Wallâ€ redirects here. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Halakha (Hebrew: ×”×œ×›×”; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah with pronunciation emphasis on the third syllable, kha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... â€œLadsâ€ redirects here. ... For other uses, see Girl (disambiguation). ... This article is about commandments in Judaism. ... â€œHebrewâ€ redirects here. ...

Before this age, all the child's responsibility to follow Jewish law and tradition lies with the parents. After this age, the children are privileged to participate in all areas of Jewish community life and bear their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics. Halakha (Hebrew: ×”×œ×›×”; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah with pronunciation emphasis on the third syllable, kha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... For the opening number of Fiddler on the Roof, see Tradition (song). ... For other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation). ...

Jewish boys

The current way of celebrating one's becoming a Bar Mitzvah did not exist in the time of the Bible, Mishnah or Talmud. This ceremonial observation developed in the Middle Ages.

The current practice is that on a Sabbath on or after his 13th birthday, a boy may recite the blessings for the Torah reading, read the week's portion from the Torah (five books of Moses) and Haftara (selections from the books of the Prophets), and/or give a d'var Torah, which may include a discussion of that week's Torah portion. One may also lead part or all of the morning prayer services. Calling someone to say the Torah blessings is called an Aliyah from the Hebrew: עֲלִיָּה, from the verb alàh, עָלָה, meaning, "to rise, to ascend; to go up"). Precisely what the Bar Mitzvah should lead during the service varies from one congregation to another, and is not fixed by Jewish law. The Sephardic Jews tend to bring the boy into adulthood a little later than Ashkenazi Jews, waiting until after his 14th birthday. Notwithstanding the celebrations, however, males become entirely culpable and responsible for following Jewish law once they reach the age of 13. Torah study is the study by Jews of the Torah, Tanakh, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaisms religious texts, for the purpose of the mitzvah (commandment) of Torah study itself, meaning study for religious (as opposed to academic) purposes. ... The Jewish ritual of Torah reading (in Hebrew: ×§×¨×™××ª ×”×ª×•×¨×”, Kriat HaTorah; Reading [of] the Torah) involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. ...

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. The service is often followed by a celebratory meal with family, friends, and members of the community. In the modern day, the celebration is sometimes delayed for reasons such as availability of a Shabbat during which no other celebration has been scheduled, or 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. Not having a Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebration does not make the child becoming an adult any less of a Jew.

Jewish girls

Except in Italy, no ceremony parallel to a boy's Bar Mitzvah ceremony developed for girls before the modern age. The Orthodox Jewish Italian rite for becoming Bat Mitzvah made a great impression on Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, a rabbi who was originally Orthodox, became Conservative, and then became the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. Through his influence at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, in New York, Jews from all branches of non-Orthodox Judaism learned about and emulated this practice, though at the time most Orthodox rabbis strongly rejected its usage, despite its Italian Orthodox background. Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan Mordecai Menahem Kaplan (June 11, 1881â€“November 8, 1983) was a rabbi and the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. ... Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement, based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan, that views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. ... The Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, known in the Jewish community simply as JTS, is the academic and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism, and is the movements main rabbinical seminary. ...

The first public celebration of a Bat Mitzvah happened on March 18, 1922 at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism in New York City for Judith Kaplan, daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. 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. The society for the advancement of judiasm is ocated on 86th street between colobus and amsterdam. ...

Today, most non-Orthodox Jews celebrate a girl's Bat Mitzvah in the same way as a boy's Bar Mitzvah. All Reform and Reconstructionist, and most Conservative synagogues have egalitarian participation in which women read from the Torah and lead services. Conservative Judaism is pluralistic, and a small percent of Conservative synagogues are still concerned about the halakhic propriety of women reading the Torah portion in public. The majority of Orthodox Judaism rejects the idea that a woman can publicly read from the Torah or lead prayer services. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, a prominent Orthodox posek has opposed anyone attending a Bat Mitzvah and has referred to the ceremony as hevel, nonsense. The Sephardic rabbi René Samuel Sirat, who served as Chief Rabbi of France, has also opposed Bat Mitzvah. However, the public celebration of a girl becoming Bat Mitzvah has made strong inroad in Modern Orthodox Judaism and in some elements of Haredi Judaism, especially Chabad-Lubavitch. In these congregations women do not read from the Torah or lead prayer services but occasionally they will lecture on a Jewish topic to mark their coming of age, learn a book of Tanakh, recite the verses from other texts (such as the Book of Esther or the Book of Psalms) or prayers from the siddur. A synagogue (from ancient Greek: , transliterated synagogÄ“, assembly; â€Ž beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: or Template:Lanh-he beit tefila, house of prayer, shul; Ladino: , esnoga) is a Jewish house of worship. ... This article is about religious pluralism. ... Halakha (Hebrew: ×”×œ×›×”; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah with pronunciation emphasis on the third syllable, kha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonised in the Talmudic texts (Oral Torah) and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. ... The Torah () is the most important document in Judaism, revered as the inspired word of God, traditionally said to have been revealed to Moses. ... Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986) Moshe Feinstein (1895 - 1986) was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi and scholar, who was world renowned for his expertise in halakha and was the de facto supreme rabbinic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America. ... Posek (Hebrew ×¤×•×¡×§, IPA: , pl. ... Languages Hebrew, Ladino, JudÃ¦o-Portuguese, Catalanic, Shuadit, local languages Religions Judaism Related ethnic groups Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, other Jewish ethnic divisions, Spaniards, Portuguese. ... Modern Orthodox Judaism (or Modern Orthodox or Modern Orthodoxy) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize traditional observance and values with the secular, modern world. ... Haredi or chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. ... Chabad Lubavitch, or Lubavich, is one of the largest branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi . ... Tanakh (â€Ž) (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Megillah redirects here. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... A siddur (Hebrew: ×¡×™×“×•×¨; plural siddurim) is a Jewish prayer book over the world, containing a set order of daily prayers. ...

Jewish "adult" responsibilities

Once a person is Bar or Bat Mitzvah, he or she has the responsibilities of an adult under Jewish law:

The idea of having this ceremony is it is the point in the adolescents life where they must take their faith as their own. They must realise that they cannot have faith by proxy, they must own it for themselves This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The Torah () is the most important document in Judaism, revered as the inspired word of God, traditionally said to have been revealed to Moses. ... A minyan (Hebrew: plural minyanim) is traditionally a quorum of ten or more adult (over the age of Bar Mitzvah) male Jews for the purpose of communal prayer; a minyan is often held within a synagogue, but may be (and often is) held elsewhere. ... Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. ... Judaism considers marriage to be the ideal state of existence; a man without a wife, or a woman without a husband, are considered incomplete. ...

Humanist Judaism's procedures

Instead of reading from the Torah, some Humanist Jews prefer to research, write, and present a research paper on a topic in Jewish history to mark their coming of age. [1] [2] Humanistic Judaism is a movement within Judaism that emphasizes Jewish culture and history - rather than belief in God - as the sources of Jewish identity. ...

Second Bar Mitzvah

Among religious Jews, it is customary for a man who has reached the age of 83 to celebrate a second bar mitzvah, under the logic that a "normal" lifespan is 70 years, so that an 83-year-old can be considered 13 in a second lifetime. This practice is now becoming increasingly common among other denominations as well. [3] [4].

Bar/Bat Mitzvah gifts

As with weddings, it is common to give the Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebrant a gift to commemorate the occasion. Traditionally, common gifts included books with religious or educational value, religious items, writing implements, savings bonds (to be used for the child's college education) or gift certificates [5], [6]. Gifts of cash are commonplace in recent times. As with charity and all other gifts it has become common to give in multiples of 18: the gematria, or numerical equivalence 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 B'nai Mitzvah. Many Bar/Bat Mitzvah also receive their first tallit from their parents to be used for the occasion. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... â€œHebrewâ€ redirects here. ... The Hebrew Chai symbol of Judaism. ... The tallit (Modern Hebrew: ) or tallet(h) (Sephardi Hebrew: ), also called talles (Yiddish), is a prayer shawl cloak that is worn during the morning Jewish services (the Shacharit prayers) in Judaism, during the Torah service, and on Yom Kippur. ...

Further reading

Oppenheimer, Mark. Thirteen and a Day: The Bar and Bat Mitzvah across America. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005.

External links

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Encyclopedia > B'nai Mitzvah

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