bat mitzvah

views updated May 23 2018

bat mitz·vah / bät ˈmitsvə/ • n. a religious initiation ceremony for a Jewish girl aged twelve years and one day, regarded as the age of religious maturity. ∎ the girl undergoing such a ceremony.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

Bat mitzvah

views updated May 18 2018

Bat mitzvah (Heb., ‘daughter of the commandment’). The status for a girl of attaining religious adulthood (cf. BAR MITZVAH for a boy). No ceremonies are laid down in the law, but a liturgy is contained in the Reform New Union Prayer Book (1975); the ceremonies are more elaborate in Progressive Judaism.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions JOHN BOWKER

bat mitzvah

views updated May 29 2018

bat mitzvah in Judaism, a religious initiation ceremony for a Jewish girl aged twelve years and one day, regarded as the age of religious maturity. The word comes from Hebrew baṯ miṣwāh ‘daughter of commandment’, suggested by bar of Chancery.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES