Bar Mitzvah Customs

A Brief Primer on Bar Mitzvah Customs

If you are preparing for your child's bar mitzvah, it is essential to understand bar mitzvah customs. Even if you are not planning a bar mitzvah but will be attending one, it helps to understand more about this event. If you're Jewish, you may already know a lot about this very special day. If you're not Jewish and you are planning to attend the bar mitzvah of a friend or relative, you may want to educate yourself on the meaning of a bar mitzvah and what it involves.

The words bar mitzvah are directly translated to mean son of the commandment. This is because bar means son and mitzvah means commandment. The bar mitzvah is held when a boy turns 13, which is the age designed by Judaism to be the beginning of adulthood. The boy is then a man in the eyes of the Jewish faith, which means he is spiritually and morally responsible for his own actions, thoughts and deeds. Before this age, a boy's actions are the moral and spiritual responsibility of his parents. You can see why this day is a celebration of spiritual significance for both the child and the parents involved.

A bar mitzvah involves reading from the Torah, which is the Jewish holy book. There is also a blessing by the parents and a speech recited by the man of honor. In addition to all these blessings, prayers and the obligatory Torah chanting in Hebrew, there is also a big party to celebrate the event. Most bar mitzvah parties feature live entertainment, lots of food, dancing, party favors, games and gifts. The party associated with this event is similar to that of a wedding reception in quite a few ways.

The equivalent of the bar mitzvah for females is the bat mitzvah. This event is basically the same thing. The only difference is that bat mitzvah means daughter of the commandment. Therefore, if you are familiar with bar mitzvah customs then you will know what to do at a bat mitzvah also. The most important thing to remember about these events is that they mark the entry into adulthood for a young Jewish boy or girl. There is much pride, honor and spiritual meaning associated with bar and bat mitzvahs. They are certainly occasions that the young Jewish men and women who experience them remember for a lifetime!

Bar Mitzvah News:

On Reverend's Handbooks and Bar Mitzvah speeches for American .
On Reverend's Handbooks and Bar Mitzvah speeches for American boys of a century ago. One of the interesting phenomena of American Jewish life a century ago was the Jewish educational literature which reflected the ...

Jew who fled Nazi Germany speaks at Twin Valley
It was an early April day nearly 71 years ago when Ralph Franklin first arrived on U.S. soil. He was 13 at the time and had sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, a month earlier, just days after his bar mitzvah...

With the Man of the Half-Hour, Narberth Bar Crowd Watches TV Premiere - Patch.com

With the Man of the Half-Hour, Narberth Bar Crowd Watches TV Premiere
Patch.com
"I feel like I'm at my own bar mitzvah. I'm blown away," said Danny Gold, star of the show and owner of that shares its (and his) name. Gold was surrounded by a standing-room-only crowd at a neighboring bar, , where the TVs showed him talking about .

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