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בר ובת מצווה

Bar and Bat Mitzvah

בַּר מִצְוָה / בַּת מִצְוָהbar mitzvah, bat mitzvah
ממתין לבדיקת מומחים

Bar mitzvah ("son of the commandment") and bat mitzvah ("daughter of the commandment") mark the attainment of religious adulthood: according to halakhah at 13 for a boy and at 12 for a girl. Adulthood comes with age, not through a ceremony; the celebrations that accompany it differ between movements.

התרגום לעברית בהכנה. מוצג הטקסט המקורי.

01

Halakhic significance

הלכה⁂ לאימות

Pirkei Avot gives the age of thirteen as the age "for the commandments".1

הלכה

From then on the boy or girl is personally bound by the commandments; a boy counts toward a minyan, and Orthodox practice expects him to put on tefillin.

מנהג⁂ לאימות

The father traditionally recites the blessing Barukh she-petarani, by which he is released from responsibility for his son's transgressions.2,3

02

Bar mitzvah

מנהג

The boy is usually called up to the Torah for the first time on Shabbat, often reads part of the weekly portion or the haftarah and gives a talk (derashah). A festive meal follows.

נוהג מודרני

Lavish social celebrations are a modern, especially American, phenomenon; many families place the emphasis rather on study and a charitable project.

03

Bat mitzvah in different movements

היסטוריהתפוצות

The first public bat mitzvah in the USA took place in 1922, when Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan held a ceremony for his daughter Judith.

נוהג מודרני

In Reform and Conservative congregations girls celebrate bat mitzvah in the same way as boys, including reading from the Torah.

נוהג מודרניאשכנזיםספרדים⁂ לאימות

In Orthodox communities bat mitzvah is celebrated in various ways: with a talk at a festive meal, a study project, and in some Modern Orthodox congregations even a reading in a women's prayer group. Sephardi and Ashkenazi congregations have their own forms.

שאלות נפוצות

Is a bar mitzvah without a ceremony invalid?

No. Religious adulthood comes with age; the ceremony and celebration are a custom.

Can a bat mitzvah or bar mitzvah be celebrated as an adult?

Yes. Especially in liberal congregations, "adult" bar and bat mitzvahs are held for those who did not have one in childhood; this is a modern custom.

מקורות

מקורות ראשוניים

  1. 1Mishnah Pirkei Avot, 5:21 text ↗
  2. 2Midrash Rabbah, Berešit raba 63:10
  3. 3Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim, 225:2 text ↗

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