Bat Mitzvah Girl Views

General Goods

According to Jewish law, when Jewish children reach 13 years of age for boys and 12 years of age for girls, they become responsible for their actions, and become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah (English: Son (Bar) or Daughter (Bat) of the commandment). In many Conservative and Reform synagogues, girls celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah at age 12,[1] along with boys at 13. This also coincides with physical puberty.[2] Prior to this, the child's parents hold the responsibility for the child's adherence to Jewish law and tradition. After this age, children bear their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics and are privileged to participate in all areas of Jewish community life.[3] When used in English, the term also refers to the ceremony itself.

Today most non-Orthodox Jews celebrate a girl's Bat Mitzvah in the same way as a boy's Bar Mitzvah. Generally Bat mitzvahs are for 12 year old girls. All Reform and Reconstructionist, and most[4] Conservative synagogues have egalitarian participation, in which women read from the Torah and lead services.

A Bat Mitzvah is the female version of a coming of age celebration of the Jewish faith. The parties for girls occur most often when they are twelve years old, and are then they are held responsible for their moral and spiritual decisions. Bat Mitzvahs are hosted by the parents, grandparents and friends and can be lavish galas rivaling weddings.

Using the Bar Mitzvah ceremony as a model, Jewish communities began to experiment with developing a similar ceremony for girls. In 1922, Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan performed the first proto-bat mitzvah ceremony in America for his daughter Judith, when she was allowed to read from the Torah when she became a Bat Mitzvah. Although this new found privilege did not match the Bar Mitzvah ceremony in complexity, the event nevertheless marked what is widely considered to be the first modern bat mitzvah in the United States. It triggered the development and evolution of the modern Bat Mitzvah ceremony.