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Bar Mitzvah
Bar Mitzvah [Aramaic,=son of the Commandment], Jewish ceremony in which the young male is initiated into the religious community, according to tradition at the age of 13 years and a day. The celebrant performs his first act as an adult, saying the blessing for the reading in the synagogue of part of the weekly portion of the Torah or, more traditionally, performing the actual reading. The exact content of the ceremony varies according to local traditions and customs (e.g., Ashkenazic or Sephardic). Today the religious ceremony is accompanied by a social celebration that is considered a Seudat Mitzvah, a feast in celebration of the fulfillment of a commandment. The 20th cent. has seen the introduction (1922) of the Bas, or Bat, Mitzvah, a comparable ceremony for the young female, by the Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist groups and to a much lesser extent by the Orthodox. The Bat Mitzvah ceremony is performed at the age of 12 or 13. It often includes the reading of the weekly Haftarah, although it is increasingly becoming identical with the Bar Mitzvah. |
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"Bar Mitzvah." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Bar Mitzvah." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-BarMitzv.html "Bar Mitzvah." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-BarMitzv.html |
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bar mitzvah
bar mitz·vah / ˌbär ˈmitsvə/ • n. the religious initiation ceremony of a Jewish boy who has reached the age of 13 and is regarded as ready to observe religious precepts and eligible to take part in public worship. ∎ the boy undergoing this ceremony. • v. [tr.] (usu. be bar mitzvahed) celebrate the bar mitzvah of (a boy). |
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"bar mitzvah." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "bar mitzvah." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-barmitzvah.html "bar mitzvah." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-barmitzvah.html |
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bar mitzvah
bar mitzvah Jewish ceremony in which a young male is initiated into the religious community. At the ceremony, which traditionally takes place when he is aged 13 years and a day, he reads a portion of the Torah in a synagogue. The religious rite is followed by a social celebration. Some non-orthodox communities also celebrate a bas (or bat) mitzvah for girls.
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"bar mitzvah." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "bar mitzvah." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-barmitzvah.html "bar mitzvah." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-barmitzvah.html |
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bar mitzvah
bar mitzvah the religious initiation ceremony of a Jewish boy who has reached the age of 13 and is regarded as ready to observe religious precepts and eligible to take part in public worship. The term comes from Hebrew bar miṣwāh, literally ‘son of the commandment’. (See also bat of Chancery.)
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bar mitzvah." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bar mitzvah." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-barmitzvah.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bar mitzvah." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-barmitzvah.html |
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Bar mitzvah
Bar mitzvah (Heb., ‘Son of the Commandment’). The ceremony and status of boys (aged 13) attaining religious adulthood in Judaism. Girls are considered to have reached religious maturity at the age of 12, but except in Progressive Judaism, this tends to be a fairly muted occasion. See BAT MITZVAH.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Bar mitzvah." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Bar mitzvah." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Barmitzvah.html JOHN BOWKER. "Bar mitzvah." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Barmitzvah.html |
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