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What is Bar Mitzvah?

Bar mitzvah means son [bar] of the commandment [mitzvah].

At the advent of their teens, a Jewish boy/ girl becomes a Bar & Bat Mitzvah respectively. Jewish law does not oblige children to observe the commandments like fast on Yom Kippur. But at thirteen and twelve years of age, respectively, boys and girls become adults in accordance with the law and assume all the rights and obligations of fulfilling the mitzvot.

A Jewish boy automatically becomes a Bar Mitzvah upon reaching the age of 13 years. For a Jewish girl Bat Mitzvah is achieved at the age of 12 years. No ceremony is needed to confer these rights and obligations. The popular bar mitzvah ceremony is not required, and does not fulfill any commandment. The elaborate ceremonies and receptions are latter day innovations and unheard of in ancient times.

In its earliest and most basic form, a Bar Mitzvah is the celebrant's first aliyah. During Shabbat services on a Saturday shortly after the child's 13th birthday, the celebrant is called up to the Torah to recite a blessing over the weekly reading.

However, there is no uniformity in the bar mitzvah celebration. The bar mitzvah may read the entire Torah portion, the maftir, the haftarah, or some combination of these, and may deliver a drasha, but he would definitely have an aliyah. There is also a divergence in the custom regarding the tallit, or prayer shawl. In some communities, a boy dons a tallit on the Sabbath of his bar mitzvah, in others, he did not put it on until he was married.

In America, the bar mitzvah celebration plays an important role in Jewish life and is often accompanied by a fancy party and gifts. Rather than having the father teach the son, as was traditional, most children prepare in religious school or with the help of a private tutor.