How is bar mitzvah connected to the number 13?

Answer 1

A Bar Mitzvah boy is 13.

Answer 2

13 is the age at which boys become Bar Mitzvah, and are considered sufficiently mature under Jewish law to take on all roles within Jewish life such as to read from the Torah (Jewish Bible) in the synagogue.

In Orthodox Judaism, girls celebrate their Bat Mitzvah at the age of 12 to reflect the act that females tend to reach maturity at a younger age than males. However, most other branches of Judaism now celebrate Bat Mitzvah at the age of 13 too.

Answer 3

The age of 13 is considered to be the age by which a male understands what's what,

how things work, and how to live among other people, well enough to take responsibility

for his own actions, and to bear their consequences. For that reason, under Jewish law,

a male becomes a bar mitzvah when he turns 13.

That's right. We said he 'becomes' one. The 'bar mitzvah' is the male person who is

13 or older. It's not a synagogue service, a celebration, or a party. It's the person.

He becomes a bar mitzvah whether or not he's even aware of it, and whether or not

anyone does anything to mark the occasion.

Think of it as being roughly equivalent to 'adult' in Jewish civil and religious law.