Name of Ceremony: Bar Mitzah

People Group: Hebrew

Type of Ceremony: Coming of Age (male’s)

Age of participant: 13 years old

Purpose of Ceremony: To celebrate the boy assuming the responsibilities of obeying

the Torah and other responsibilities of Jewish adulthood.

Ceremony Description: Most commonly during the weekly Sabbat (Sabbath) the boy
is called up to read either one of the blessings surrounding the reading of the Torah,
and speak about the requirements and expectations of being an adult in the Jewish
world and Torah obedience. Some synagogues will have the child not only read the
blessings, but also read the entire Torah passage of the week. Following the service
there is a traditionally a small party to celebrate the boys passage into man hood,
but in many cases the party has taken precedence over the Sabbat Service portion.

Personal Reflection and Commentary: I found the Bar-Mitzvah one of the more
interesting coming of age ceremonies in first and second world countries. I had
some previous experience with the Bar-Mitzvah from the time I spent overseas, but
I was surprised with the simplicity of the ceremony. From a developmental
standpoint the Bar-Mitzvah seems to perfectly address Erikson’s developmental
conflict of identity versus confusion. This provides the youth right at the start a
place in the story and an identity of who he is beyond himself, which is critical part
of this particular developmental stage. The only potential problem that I can see that
since the ceremony takes place in the start of adolescence the child is not really
capable of thinking in any manner like an adult, and so will be more inclined to
make mistakes that he would perhaps not make otherwise.
 References
Cherry, K. (2005). Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development. Retrieved Janurary 30, 2011, from
About.com: http://psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm

Rich, T. R. (2005). Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah and Confirmation . Judaism 101 .

Richardson, T. (2007, March 30). Jewish Culture. (J. Arnett, Interviewer)

The Bar-Mitzvah. (n.d.). Retrieved Janurary 30, 2011, from Being Jewish: http://www.beingjewish.com/