bat mitzvah

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(lit. "daughter of the commandment"). A girl who has attained her religious majority, which, according to Jewish law, is at the age of 12 years and one day. There are no specific legal requirements for a girl to take part in any religious ceremony marking this occasion. Jewish law merely takes cognizance of the fact that her father may no longer annul her vows and that she is to be considered an independent woman responsible for her own decisions. A ceremonial equivalent of the Bar Mitzvah designed for girls, but not forming part of the synagogue service, appears to have been an innovation of Jacob Ettlinger, the Neo-Orthodox Chief Rabbi of Altona in the mid-19th century. This practice spread to other lands and, in the late 19th century, it was approved by a leading Sephardi halakhist, Joseph Ḥayyim ben Elijah al-Ḥakam of Baghdad. His detailed recommendations (Ben Ish Ḥai, 1898) included the holding of a banquet and the wearing of a new dress by the bat mitzvah girl so that she could recite the She-Heḥeyanu benediction.

Mordecai Kaplan pioneered the bat mitzvah ceremony, as part of the regular synagogue service, in the United States during the 1920s. Since then, it has become very popular and is now observed in various ways by most communities. In American non-Orthodox congregations, a 12-year-old girl celebrates her "coming of age" on a Friday night or Sabbath morning: she conducts the service, chants the appropriate reading from the prophetic books (Haftarah), and in some cases also reads from the Torah and delivers an address on the theme of her attaining Jewish adulthood. In Orthodox synagogues, the bat mitzvah girl's participation in the services is more limited, although she may address the congregation; at a women's Minyan, however, she will be called to the reading of the Torah and even chant one of the portions together with the haftarah. A difference of opinion has arisen in American Orthodox circles as to whether the bat mitzvah ceremony should take place when the girl is 12 or 13.

Ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazim and most Sephardi-Eastern communities are opposed to bat mitzvah celebrations. Their halakhic arguments are rejected, however, by authorities such as Jehiel Jacob Weinberg (Seridé Esh, vol. 3) who justify the practice on educational and socio-religious grounds, provided that the bat mitzvah is observed in a manner that will "strengthen Torah consciousness." Outside the U.S., the ceremony takes various forms: Reform observance is in line with the American pattern, but Orthodox girls do not participate in synagogue ritual. Instead, on the appropriate Sabbath morning, a bat mitzvah's father is called to the Torah and pronounces the Barukh She-Petarani benediction; his daughter then recites She-heḥeyanu; and the rabbi may either address her in synagogue or at a Kiddush reception after the services. Alternatively, the bat mitzvah celebration may take place at home or in the synagogue hall on a weekday. Both Western Sephardim and Orthodox Israelis favor this type of observance, at which the bat mitzvah girl herself often gives a suitable discourse.

The occasion is marked differently in most British Commonwealth and South African communities. After undertaking courses in Bible, Jewish history, laws and customs, etc., the bat mitzvah must pass a test qualifying her to participate in a collective ceremony organized by traditional congregations or Jewish day schools. In Israel, non-observant families arrange a special 12th birthday party with no religious accompaniments, marking the girl's entrance into maturity. Both Mesorati (Conservative) and Progressive (Reform) synagogues enable the bat mitzvah to participate actively in the Sabbath services and, on occasion, to chant the haftarah.

Latterly, in the U.S., some women who never had a bat mitzvah when they were young have a ceremony of their own as adults; this is arranged once they have been prepared by the congregational rabbi or cantor. Another development is the publication of creative liturgy. An entire bat mitzvah service is included in the Reform movement's New Union Prayer Book (1975), while the Conservative Siddur Sim Shalom (1985) contains a special Mi She-Berakh prayer for the bat mitzvah, as well as an insertion in Grace After Meals and (English) readings appropriate for a bat mitzvah ceremony.

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For a list of words related to bat mitzvah, see:

• Family Affairs - bat mitzvah: celebration of Jewish girl’s coming of age
• Celebrations, Observances, Rites, and Gatherings - bat mitzvah: initiation ceremony marking coming of age of thirteen-year-old Jewish girl; bas mitzvah
• Judaism - bat mitzvah: ceremony marking girl’s reaching age of religious responsibility and maturity; bas mitzvah

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