According to Jewish religion and belief, a boy attains religious maturity and becomes responsible to fulfill all of the commandments of the Torah at the age of 13. Similarly, a girl becomes equally responsible at the age of 12, one full year earlier corresponding to her earlier maturation. At these ages then, it is believed that men and women maintain the intellectual maturity to be able to determine right from wrong, good from bad, and essentially modify their behavior and act the way they are supposed to act.
“Bar Mitzvah” literally means “son of the commandment”. “Bar” is “son” in Arabic, which used to be the vernacular of the Jewish people. Therefore, “Bar Mitzvah” describes a young man now responsible to do and abide by all mitzvot, or commandments. “Bat” means daughter in both Hebrew and Arabic and so, “Bat Mitzvah” literally means “daughter of Mitzvah” and is used to describe a young woman who is now responsible to observe and adhere to all of her mitzvot.
Technically, both terms refer to a child who is coming of age, so it is more correct to refer to a young man or woman as becoming a bar or bat mitzvah. However, the term is more commonly used to refer to the coming of age ceremony itself, so it is likely that one will hear that someone is having a bar or bat mitzvah or is invited to a bar or bat mitzvah.
Under Jewish law, children are not obligated to observe the commandments, although they are often encouraged to do so as much as they possibly can in order to learn and become more aware of the obligations that they will have once they become adults. That being said, as soon as a young man turns 13 (and a young woman turns 12) they become obligated to observe and adhere to the commandments. The bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies formally, as well as publicly mark the assumption of that obligation. In addition, the child also receives the right to take part in leading religious services, form binding contracts, testify before religious courts and most importantly, marry. However, because a boy automatically becomes a bar mitzvah upon turning 12, and a girl automatically becomes a bat mitzvah upon turning 13, a ceremony is not technically required in order to bestow these rights and obligations upon them. In fact, the bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies and elaborate receptions are relatively modern events, not mentioned in the Talmud, and essentially unheard of up until about a century ago.
Today, as with centuries ago, it is common practice for the bar or bat mitzvah celebrant to be called up to the Torah to recite a blessing over the weekly reading. In addition, it is most common for the celebrant to learn the entire haftarah, including its original chant, and recite that. In some congregations, the celebrant reads the entire weekly Torah portion, or even leads part of the service or simply leads the entire congregation in certain important prayers. The celebrant is also required to make a speech, which traditionally begins with the phrase, “Today, I am a man”. In addition, for a boy, among his many new responsibilities, beginning from his Bar-Mitzvah day and onward he must wrap tefillin every day of the week besides Shabbat and certain holidays.
In modern times, the religious service is often followed by a reception that is often as elaborate and stunning as a wedding reception. However, in Orthodox and Chasidic practice, women are not permitted to participate in religious services in these ways, so a bat mitzvah, if celebrated at all, is usually little more than a party. But, in other movements of Judaism, the girls do exactly the same thing as the boys.
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