HEAD, HEART AND HAND

The two most traditional which the Bar Mitsvah boy commences to observe are the laying of Tefillin and being called up to the Torah. While one may not receive an Aliyah before one is 13, it is customary for the Bar Mitsvah boy to start putting on Tefillin one month earlier, in order that he should practise this Mitsvah and be fully acquainted with its procedure by the time it becomes obligatory.

The special Mitsvah he now begins to perform every weekday is that of Tefillin, as the Torah states: “And you shall bind them upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.” Tefillin consist of two small leather boxes in which are contained four sections of the Torah inscribed on parchment. One of the boxes is bound to the left arm so as to rest against the heart and the other is placed on the head, above the forehead, so as to rest upon the brain. Attention is that directed to head, heart and hand, teaching us to dedicate ourselves to the service of God in all that we think, feel and do. If one is left-handed a Rav should be consulted as to which hand the Tefillin should be placed on; this will not necessarily be the right hand.

Seudat Mitsvah.

The meal that is held after the Synagogue service on which one celebrates one’s Bar Mitsvah is called a “Seudat Mitsvah”. This means a meal during which we rejoice in a Mitsvah. The Bar Mitsvah boy’s utterance of words of Torah and his having been called to read from the Torah make the occasion a wonderful one for guests to attend and participate in. As the Bar Mitsvah boy enters into his rightful inheritance, the inheritance of Israel, all Israel rejoices with him.