bar mitzvah boy

This weekend Keith and I are going to be attending his nephew, Grant’s, Bar Mitzvah!

I know most of you have probably heard the word but don’t know what it is. Let’s do Judaism 101!

Boys have a bar mitzvah and girl’s have a bat mitzvah. When a boy or girl comes of age at 13-years-old he or she has become a “bar/bat mitzvah” and is recognized by Jewish tradition as having the same rights as a full-grown man/woman. A boy/girl who has become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah is now morally and ethically responsible for his/her decisions and actions..

The bar/bat mitzvah ceremony usually requires much more preparation and participation on the part of the boy/girl, who will work with a Rabbi and/or Cantor for months (or years) studying for the event.  They are responsible for:

• Leading specific prayers or the entire service during a Shabbat service
• Reading the weekly Torah portion during a Shabbat service
• Reading the weekly Haftarah portion during a Shabbat service
• Giving a speech about the Torah and/or Haftarah reading.
• Completing a tzedakah (charity) project leading up to the ceremony to raise money or donations for a charity of the bar/bat mitzvah’s choice.

Basically you are responsable for leading the congregation in a special Shabbat service that usually lasts about 2 hours. Whew! Quite a lot for a 13-year-old to accomplish! Especially when you consider that Hebrew is the Jewish language! So there is lots of studying that goes into this. I had my bat mitzvah when I was 13 and still remember my Torah portion. It was the Ten Commandments (in Hebrew of course, not English).

I am super excited to see Grant this weekend. I know he will do an amazing job! This is a very big deal in the Jewish culture and I am so proud of him!

Have you ever attended a bar/bat mitzvah?