How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household by Blu Greenberg
Author:Blu Greenberg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A Fireside Book
Published: 1983-07-15T00:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER · 12
BAR MITZVAH—BAT MITZVAH
With or without fanfare, when a boy reaches thirteen, and a girl reaches twelve, he/she becomes Bar or Bat Mitzvah, an adult in the eyes of Jewish law, responsible for the full range of mitzvot. It is an involuntary step, as is all growth. In one sense, then, Bar or Bat Mitzvah can be understood as the involuntary act of growing into Jewish maturity.
Twelve- and thirteen-year-olds, however, are quite capable of making voluntary responses, so the celebration of Bar and Bat Mitzvah, essentially, is the celebration of the joyous acceptance of this responsibility.
Now, let us look at it from another angle. One of the special qualities of Judaism is that nothing is taken for granted. Not a thing—not biological growth, nor physical sensations, nor events in nature, nor emotional stages—goes by unnoticed. This extraordinary quality of acute awareness and celebration always applied in greater measure to male experiences and stages of growth. But under the impact of new values for women, the imbalance is being corrected.
The fact that a young man at thirteen became fully responsible for observing the commandments of the Torah and was simultaneously conferred with full rights as an adult Jew made it only logical that a rite of passage connected to the Torah should develop. Thus, the core of the ceremony was an aliyah to the Torah at which a thirteen-year-old recited the Torah blessings. This symbolized his commitment to Torah, his voluntary acceptance of the covenant, and his full rights as an adult Jew.
From the perspective of what a thirteen-year-old is all about, it was a brilliant puberty rite, a simple yet profound ritual that caught a child-man at this important transition stage in his life and focused his energies in a particular direction—of Torah, synagogue, mitzvot, community, and faith....
Bar Mitzvah
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