A Jewish practice that I’ve always been curious about is the Bar (or Bat) Mitzvah held for Jewish boys and girls. This is an event that I’ve always heard about on TV and from people who have gone to them, yet unfortunately, I’ve never had to pleasure to attend one myself. I come from an area that is almost exclusively Christian, and I’ve never had a Jewish peer in any of my classes until college and so my exposure to Jewish practices and festivals is quite minimal. The only practices I knew from before this class were the Bar Mitzvah (which I first saw on Family Guy), kosher foods, and Hanukkah. Therefore I decided that I would research the observance of Bar Mitzvahs to see if they parallel any practices from my own religion, Hinduism, or others …show more content…
Bar Mitzvahs are practices that celebrate the coming of age for a child, which means that the child has reached the age of maturity and is responsible for him/herself under Jewish law (Hopfe 197-198). Bar Mitzvahs have more historical roots in Judaism, however, since the Bat Mitzvah is more of a modern day innovation practiced by many non-Orthodox congregations. The historical purpose of the Bar Mitzvah is celebrate a boy becoming man which means that he can then participate in the minyan, and fulfill all the Torah’s commandments (Hopfe 198). Surprisingly, these obligations that are associated with the coming of age aren’t dependent on whether a Bar Mitzvah happens or not. Therefore a Bar Mitzvah is really just meant to celebrate the milestone in the child’s life in a joyous …show more content…
The reason why there is so much preparation is because during the Bar Mitzvah, there are multiple moments where the boy is supposed to show his faith and religious knowledge. Within Bar Mitzvahs, there are many rites bundled into one. The main portion of the Bar Mitzvah occurs in the synagogue during Shabbat services after the birthday. During this service, the celebrant recites his first aliyah, where he comes up to the Torah and recites a blessing over the weekly reading which is a great honor (Rich). The boy also receives his first set of tefillin—black leather boxes adults wear that contain parchments inscribed with Shema and biblical passages—from his parents and grandparents (chabad.org). Upon receiving the tefillin, the boy is finally able to wear them on his arm and head as Jewish adults are supposed to. Afterwards, it is also common for the boy to recite the entire haftarah portion (which he learned in the months before the Bar Mitzvah), and some congregations have the boy lead the service or read the entire weekly Torah portion and certain prayers (Rich). This is why there is so much preparation before the Bar Mitzvah so that the celebrant performs all his duties during the service in an efficient, knowledgeable
before, they are asked to go up on the scaffold and be with the minister. At
So what it is Bar Mitzvah? According to The Oxford English Dictionary Bar Mitzvah is “the 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”. Of course this is a very vague explanation in terms of getting to the bottom of this ceremony’s significance. What is crucially important about both Bar and Bat Mitzvah is that this ceremony is absolutely essential for every Jewish person actually practicing the religion. As it was mentioned before, this ceremony is some sort of emancipation for Jewish children. Consequently, the way the ceremony was conducted has a very important meaning in the life of a child and his or her parents. Prior to Bar Mitzvah his parents were supposed to take under control their child’s cultural development. Every kid, by the age of 13 (or 12, which is the full-age for girls) supposed to ...
I chose to write about Jewish-Americans after my mother, who was raised Christian, chose to identify herself as Jewish. In my reading I examined Jewish culture and how it is in American society. I looked at how Jewish-American culture has become a prominent component of American society. I looked at the historical forces that have shaped Jewish-American experience in the United States. I looked at demographics of where most Jewish-Americans live. I examined how Jewish-Americans have contributed to our culturally pluralistic society in the United States.
This report was enlightening and informative. It was amazing to find out information about my religion. The originality of this religion is what makes it so unique from others and special. We have a structure that allows people to do onto God as they want done to them. By giving back through your words and actions the holiday can be a very graceful and godly time when individuals can reflect and try to make themselves a better person. These holidays allow spiritual growth which is one of the most vital aspects of the Jewish religion. Without absolute understanding of gratitude, faith, and humbling yourself before God, this religion is not truly embraced, by embracing these aspects the religion can be illuminated in all ways and seen one of the most beautiful parts of life.
...e tradition. Hopefully, the younger generations will continue to celebrate the sacred celebration to maintain their heritage in the future.
At the time of our Bat Mitzvah, we as Jewish women are encouraged to look to influential and inspirational Jewish women, such as Esther, for guidance and strength. A Bat Mitzvah is a Jewish ritual in which a female immediately upon the age of 12 becomes an adult or a “daughter of the mitzvah” (Cahabad.org, 2016) (Pelaia, 2014). This ritual marks the beginning of a lifetime of devotion to the Jewish religion and with this comes the exploration of your own personal purpose that was given to you by God (Rich, 2011). Esther, a woman of the scripture, exemplifies what it means to be a Jewish woman and therefore would be an appropriate addition to my Bat Mitzvah ceremony and following this will continue to provide inspiration as I journey through life.
However I do think that if you a reform Jew, festivals are a great way
The most bizarre aspect after walking into the Jewish service was the clothing being worn by most individuals. Most individuals were wearing a scarf-type piece of clothing as well as little round hats on their he...
Chanukah is the eight day festival of light that begins on the eve of the twenty-fifth of the Jewish month of Kislev. It celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, and of spirituality over materiality.
I had no idea that there was a Jewish synagogue right around the corner from my house. The Kol Ami synagogue is located on 2300 E. and Just off of I-80 and is has the membership of roughly 350 family units, which is about ¼ of the Jewish population in Utah. (1) Rabbi Ilana Schwartzman has been at the Kol Ami since 2010 and has a very cultured past including schooling from: the University of Virginia (English and Religion degree), Ben Gurion University (Hebrew studies), and the Hebrew Union Colleges- Institute of Religion in Jerusalem and Cincinnati. (1) This particular Sunday that I visited Kol Ami there was a Bar-Mitzvah, which is also the topic of this paper, more specifically: What is the meaning of a Bar-Mitzvah. We will be going over what it means, some history, and how the actual Bar-Mitzvah ceremony is like.
My Jewish learning. Web. 10 Sep. 2011. Jewish_Family.shtml.>.
...tovah tikateiv veteichateim,” “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” c) Tashlich, a special prayer said near a body of water (an ocean, river, pond, etc.), in evocation of the verse, “And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea.” And as with every major Jewish holiday, after candle lighting and prayers Jews recite kiddush and make a blessing on the challah. Both in Judaism and Hinduism the New Year is a time of celebration. A time where all people but the past behind them and enter the New Year with a clean slate, where God had forgiven all people for all there sins from the previous year.
A mitzvah also a commandment tells Jewish people "to be fruitful and multiply”. It is usually a personal desire to build a Jewish family. Many Jew’s believe that building a Jewish family and making sure that they teach them values of the culture. They see to teach them about their history from the Holocaust that way they do not forget. Today in Jewish America the homes are male dominated. The entire family does exactly what the father says. Women are home makers. They raise their children, keep the home tidy and organize any functions that go on. When it...
Mail, A.S. (1997). An Exploration of the Impact of the Israel Experience upon Bar/Bat Mitzvah Students: Rites of Passage for Progressive Jewish Teenagers. Journal of Progressive Judaism. Nov97, Issue 9, pg59-82.
Girls at the age of twelve automatically mature into womanhood. The transition from being a girl to accepting the responsibilities of womanhood is called their Bat Mitzvah. The girl is now responsible for fulfilling the activities of a Jewish woman, which are lighting the Shabbat candles and fasting on holy days. A boy undergoes his transition from boyhood into manhood at the age of 13. He goes through a ceremony called his Bar Mitzvah, where he’s called to read the Torah in front of the whole congregation. Upon completing this task he can now attend synagogue on his own and is responsible for his own spiritual life with God. Both ceremonies have evolved throughout history and are now almost certain to be accompanied with a major celebration in honor of the new man or woman (“Bar and Bat