Bat + Bar mitzvah

    Cards (15)

    • Bar Mitzvah
      Literally: son of the commandment. A Jewish ceremony for a 13-year-old boy, which marks his becoming a full adult member of the Jewish community
    • Bat Mitzvah
      Literally: daughter of the commandment. Liberal Jewish coming of age ceremony for 12 year-old girls
    • Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies are significant because they are seen as the time of coming of age, when a child becomes an adult
    • After these ceremonies Jewish boys or girls become responsible for living according to Jewish Law
    • At this point, each young person has to accept the law and its obligations, participate fully in services at the synagogue and set a good example for others
    • After the Bar Mitzvah ceremony, a Jewish boy can be counted as part of a minyan
    • In Reform synagogues girls who are Bat Mitzvah can also be counted
    • Bar Mitzvah ceremony
      1. Boy reads from the Torah
      2. Boy puts on the tefillin for the first time
      3. Rabbi gives a talk
      4. Boy may give a talk
      5. Boy's father recites a prayer of thanks
      6. Boy receives gifts
      7. Celebratory meal
    • Bat Mitzvah ceremony
      1. Girl may read from the Torah or read a prayer from the Siddur
      2. Follows a similar pattern to the Bar Mitzvah
    • Traditionally, within Judaism, males and females are not thought to have the same responsibilities
    • As a result, in some Jewish communities, some rules (such as the requirement to read from the Torah) are less strict for girls than they are for boys
    • Bat Chayil
      A Jewish initiation ceremony for girls in Orthodox communities that takes place at the age of 12
    • Bat Chayil marks a girl's passage into an adult role in her religious community
    • After the Bat Chayil ceremony, she is expected to observe Jewish religious rules for women, and to spend time learning how to keep a good home
    • Around 13 years old
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