BAR MITSVAH
The words ‘Bar Mitsvah’ literally mean “son of commandment”, indicating that in the eyes of Jewish Law, a bar Mitsvah boy has come of age and must now perform the commandments of the Torah. The Torah does not impose an obligation to practice Mitsvot on boys under the age of 13 and girls below the age of 12, nor does it prescribe punishments for their transgression of the commandments. The children’s parents are obliged to train their children in the practice of Mitsvot. Once a boy reaches manhood (13 years) he is expected to fully appreciate the difference between good and bad and right and wrong, and it is from then on that he is held personally responsible for all his actions.
When he is called up for his first Aliyah a Bar Mitsvah boy completes his blessings on the Torah and then his father pronounces this blessing:
Baruch shepetarani me’onsho shel zeh hz lc wcnwum ynrfpc ]wrb
“Blessed is He who has now freed me from the liability of this person.”
In reciting this Berachah the father appreciates the fact that his son is now capable of making correct decisions and carrying them out. On hearing his father recite this blessing, the Bar Mitsvah boy should be inspired to lead a worthy existence throughout the rest of his life.
How do you become bar Mitsvah?
With the exception of bar-Mitsvah, all significant Jewish milestones take effect only through a ceremony. A couple are considered to be married only if they have had a religious wedding ceremony. One is considered to be religiously circumcised only if one has had a Jewish circumcision ceremony; a first-born son is redeemed only after the appropriate ceremony has taken place and a couple become divorced only after a religious divorce ceremony has been held. You do not become Bar Mitsvah just by having a ceremony in Shul! As soon as a boy turns 13 on the Hebrew calendar, he is considered to be a man; he is now subject to all the obligations and also enjoys all the privileges of an adult. As soon as he reaches this momentous milestone, we gather together to witness that his first publicly performed Mitsvah, which is the Aliyah he receives on his Bar Mitsvah day, and to celebrate with joy and happiness the fact that he has now reached adulthood.
How do we know that a boy reaches adulthood at 13? In the Book of Bereshit we are told “Simeon and Levi . . . . . took each man his sword” (Bereshit 34:25). According to our oral tradition Levi was 13 years old at the time of this incident and the Torah clearly refers to him as a “man”. This teaching is supported and confirmed by the Mishnah in the Ethics of the Fathers: “At 13 the age is reached for the fulfilment of the commandments” (Ethics of the Fathers 5:24). While the concept of Bar Mitsvah dates back to Talmudic times, the custom of celebrating it in our traditional manner is relatively recent in Jewish history. The earliest reference to a Bar Mitsvah celebration is by a 15th Century Rabbinic authority who wrote “it is as encumbent upon the father to make a festive meal on the day his son becomes Bar Mitsvah as it is on the day of his wedding.”
Which is a greater occasion, a birth or a Bar-Mitsvah? The celebrated Israeli author, AE Kitov writes, “the day of one’s Bar Mitsvah is greater than the day of one’s birth. When a person is born, he is not completely fashioned. He becomes ‘complete’ only on the day of his bar-Mitsvah. On that day, when he accepts the obligation of performing the Mitsvot of God, his inclination to God is firmly joined to his life, and the purpose for which God gave him life is achieved”.
