The Bat Mitzvah is a ceremony that celebrates a Jewish girl’s becoming an adult member of her community. Somewhat like Quinceañera and debutante balls, the Bat Mitzvah is a rite of passage for many Jewish girls, especially in North America.
Its roots are religious in origin, but the practice is popular with Jewish people from across the religious spectrum, including many who would consider themselves secular. The celebration itself varies greatly, both historically and between different sects of Judaism. According to Jewish law, girls become Bat Mitzvah at the age of 12 or 13. Although the Bat Mitzvah is often understood as an extravagant birthday party (as in the 2006 film Keeping Up with the Steins or the 2005 episode of the television show Entourage entitled “The Bat Mitzvah”), Bat Mitzvah literally refers to the girl's becoming a “daughter of the commandments.”
Origins and Evolution of the Rite. The Bar Mitzvah, a Jewish male's coming-of-age ceremony (literally, “son of the commandments”), is a rite of passage dating back to medieval times. The Bat Mitzvah, however, is a modern invention. It is said that Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, founder of the left-wing movement known as Reconstructionist Judaism, developed the ceremony based on having seen a Bat Mitzvah on a trip to Italy; his daughter, Judith Kaplan, became the first American Bat Mitzvah in New York City in 1922. Since then, the Bat Mitzvah ceremony has become increasingly popular, especially in egalitarian Jewish communities where girls and women are regarded as having equal rights and responsibilities in religious practice as boys and men. In Orthodox communities, Jewish girls may have ceremonies or other familial events to mark their coming of age.
However, these generally do not involve reading from the Torah (Old Testament) or leading services, because these practices are not included in the religious participation of Orthodox women. Orthodox girls are not invited to have an aliyah (which literally means “ascent” and involves stepping up to the bimah, or stage, to recite a blessing over the Torah before it is read). Although the coming-of-age celebration for an Orthodox girl is more likely a small affair among family and friends, if she is to read from the Torah or conduct services in honor of becoming Bat Mitzvah, she does so exclusively in the presence of other women. It is in Orthodox communities that the differences between Bat and Bar Mitzvah ceremonies are most apparent; the ceremonies that mark a boy becoming Bar Mitzvah are much more public than are the ceremonies for girls.
The Bat Mitzvah Process. Bat Mitzvah ceremonies differ from place to place. In fact, in its most basic form, all that is required to become Bat or Bar Mitzvah is to be called up to the Torah for an aliyah-in theory, then, it is technically impossible for Orthodox Jewish girls to become Bat Mitzvah. In many denominations of Judaism today, the ceremony is increasingly marked by the full participation of the Bat Mitzvah in the entirety of a Saturday morning Shabbat (Sabbath) service. Usually the service is followed by a party (or sometimes several parties) and a Seudat Mitzvah (literally, a “commandment meal”), a celebratory feast.
In Conservative synagogues that support egalitarianism in the Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremony, young women embarking on the Bat Mitzvah journey often begin with Hebrew lessons three times a week. A girl may begin these lessons as early as first grade and may then become Bat Mitzvah five or six years later. Over the course of these years, she learns about Jewish history, the Hebrew language, Israel, ritual, and prayer. She is working toward gaining the knowledge and confidence to lead her congregation in a full Saturday morning service (two to three hours in length) on the day of her Bat Mitzvah. At a Conservative synagogue, the service is likely to be in Hebrew and much of it is sung, so the Bat Mitzvah also needs to learn the words and be able to carry the tunes to the various songs and prayers.
A main event in the Bat Mitzvah ceremony is the reading of the Haftorah, a text selected from the book of Prophets (Nevi'im) and read directly after the reading of the Torah during the Saturday morning service. The Haftorah is also in Hebrew, and, like the Torah portion, it is chanted, but the notes (called trope) of this cantillation are different from those used for other parts of the service. Although some girls read all or part of the Torah portion that falls on the day of their Bat Mitzvah, the Haftorah portion is usually the piece that they focus on most diligently during preparation in the year leading up to the big event.
At the end of the service, the members of the congregation often throw candies at the Bat Mitzvah as a way of offering hope for a sweet future. After the service, there is usually a party. In a Conservative synagogue, the ceremonies for girls and boys are often exactly the same, as are the expectations for them as members of the community. Another important part of many Bat Mitzvah celebrations is the D'var Torah, literally a “word of Torah.” In this case, the Bat Mitzvah is invited to discuss the Torah portion that is read on her Bat Mitzvah day. Usually this involves giving a summary of the reading, selecting its key themes, and consulting relevant commentaries on the portion (many of which are now available online). In their D'var Torah, young people often tie their portion to themes that are close to their own life experiences, as well as those of their families and communities.
