Who had the first Bat Mitzvah?

Answer 1

Answer 1

When referring to the modern celebration held when a girl becomes a bat mitzvah, no one really knows, as the practice only began around the 1960's with the rise of feminism. Whoever she was though for certain it was an American Jewess.

As to when the first girl became a bat mitzvah in the actual sense of the title, this happened at the same time that boys started being called a bar mitzvah. This dates back to biblical times and isn't associated with any one person.

Answer 2

While the general sense of Answer 1 is correct, the Bat Mitzvah (as a celebration) actually emerged as a phenomenon in the late 1800s, not the 1960s and as a result, it is more likely that the first Bat Mitzvah was performed by enlightened Jews in Germany before it crossed over to America. Since the liberal strains of religious Judaism today are only really extant in America, that is where most Bat Mitzvahs currently occur (and in far larger numbers since the 1960s).