Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah are Jewishcoming of age rituals. According to Jewish law, when Jewish children reach 13 years of age, they become responsible for their actions, and "become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, plural B'nai Mitzvah" (English: Son (Bar) or Daughter (Bat) of commandment, plural Children of commmandment). In Orthodox communities, a Bat Mitzvah is celebrated when a girl reaches the age of 12. In addition to being considered responsible for their actions from a religious perspective, B'nai mitzvah may be counted towards a prayer quorum (Hebrew: Minyan) and may lead prayer and other religious services for the community. The age of B'nai Mitzvah was selected because it roughly coincides with physical puberty. Prior to a child reaching Bar or Bat Mitzvah, the child's parents hold the responsibility for the child's adherence to Jewish law and tradition. After this age, children bear their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics and are privileged to participate in all areas of Jewish community life. When used in English, the term also refers to the ceremony itself.
For our first-time visitors: We are excited to share our culture with you. You may have many questions about the traditions and customs of our faith. So, we hope that the following information will be helpful and make your experience more enjoyable.
What is a Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah? This activity represents the time when a young person becomes a fully participating member of the Jewish community and assumes personal responsibility for their religious and moral decisions. The ceremony takes place during the observance of Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath which begins each Friday at sundown and ends at dark Saturday night.
What are the head coverings? In our congregation, anyone, men, women, Jew and non-Jew are invited and encouraged to wear a kipa or head covering as a sign of respect and reverence to G-d during the services.
What are the shawls? During Saturday morning services, many Jews wear tallit or prayer shawls. When the torah is read, Jews will touch the Torah reading with the tzitzit (fringes) of their tallit before they recite the blessing before and after the Torah portion is read.
What are the books for? The Shabbat service is contained in the Siddur Sim Shalom, the blue prayer book. While the service takes place mostly in Hebrew, the prayers are translated on the opposite page of the book so you can follow along n English. The Torah portions and Haftara readings are found in the red book, the chumash, that will be offered to you as you enter the sanctuary Saturday. Also, there is also a spiral notebook that serves as a transliteration of the service so, during the service, when the rabbi announces a page number in the prayer book, you can use the spiral book to find the corresponding page number.
What is the order of service? Friday evening: The service begins with the blessing over the Shabbat candles and a blessing over the children. Near the end of the service, there will be a D’var Torah (Torah teaching). Afterward, please join us for refreshments at Oneg in our gathering hall.
Saturday morning: There are 4 parts. P’Sukey de Zimra, Shaharit, Torah and Musaf. The Torah service is the main focus. Each Shabbat morning, a consecutive portion of the Torah is read and studied so that throughout one calendar year, all five books have been sequentially read. The Torah service begins with the removal of the sacred Torah from the Ark. It is passed to the family and carried through the sanctuary allowing the congregation to touch its cover as a sign of reverence for its teachings. During the service there will be much movement as family and friends will be honored with aliyot (going up to the Torah). They will read the blessing before and after each of the Torah portions is chanted. The last portion is reserved for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
After the Torah reading, the Bar/Bat Mitzvah will read the blessings before and after the reading of the Haftorah. Then, the Musaf service will follow concluding with the traditional prayer for “breaking of bread”.
P.S. Instead of clapping, we say “Yasher Koach!” (May your strength be firm! Well done! Good Job!) Following the service, we invite everyone to join us for Kiddush lunch in the social hall as we celebrate the accomplishments of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
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