Bar Mitzvah for boys or Bat Mitzvah for girls are Jewish coming of age rituals.

ETIMOLOGY AND DEFINITION

Bar is a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic word literally meaning "son", while bat means
"daughter" in Hebrew, and mitzvah means "commandment" or "law". Thus, bar
mitzvah and bat mitzvah literally translate to "son of commandment" and "daughter
of commandment". However, in rabbinical usage, the word bar means "under the
category of" or "subject to". Bar mitzvah therefore translates to "an agent who is
subject to the law". Although the term is commonly used to refer to the ritual itself, in
fact the phrase originally refers to the person.

According to Jewish law, when Jewish boys become 13 years old, they become
accountable for their actions and become a bar mitzvah. A girl becomes a bat
mitzvah at the age of 12 according to Orthodox and Conservative Jews, and at the
age of 13 according to Reform Jews. Before to reach bar mitzvah age, the child's
parents hold the responsibility for the child's actions. After this age, the boys and
girls have their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics, and are
able to participate in all areas of Jewish community life. Traditionally, the father of
the bar mitzvah gives thanks to God that he is no longer punished for the child's sins
(Genesis Rabba, Toldot 23:11). In addition to being considered accountable for their
actions from a religious perspective, a bar or bat mitzvah may lead prayer and other
religious services in the family and the community.

PARTY

Bar mitzvah celebrations often include a seudat mitzvah, a celebration meal with
family, friends and community members. Others may celebrate in different ways,
such as taking the bar or bat mitzvah on a special trip or organizing a special event
in honor of the celebrant. In many communities, the celebrant receives a certificate.
According to the orthodox view, the bar mitzvah boy is so happy to receive orders to
perform mitzvah and earn reward in the other world for his efforts, that he throws a
party and has a festive meal.

JEWS WOMEN

The majority of Orthodox and some Conservative Jews reject the idea that a woman can
publicly read from the Torah or lead prayer services whenever there is a minyan (quorum
of 10 males) available to do so. However, the public celebration of a girl becoming bat
mitzvah in other ways has made strong inroads into Modern Orthodox Judaism and also
into some elements of Haredi Judaism. In these congregations, women do not read from
the Torah or lead prayer services, but they occasionally lecture on a Jewish topic to mark
their coming of age, learn a book of Tanakh, recite verses from the Book of Esther or the
Book of Psalms, or say prayers from the siddur.
RESPONSIBILITIES
A person who is Bar or Bat Mitzvah has the same responsibilities as an adult under
Jewish law. These include:
Be morally responsible for one's own acts.
Be eligible to be called to read from the Torah and participate in a minyan
(although only orthodox communities are allowed to men).
Everything you own is your property.
Be eligible for marriage under Jewish law.
They are responsible for the fulfillment of the 613 commandments of the Torah.
Wear Tefillin every day (the men). Tefillin consists of two small leather boxes
attached to leather straps. Each of the two boxes contains four sections of the
Torah written on parchment.
GIFTS
Bar or bat mitzvah celebrations have become an occasion to give the celebrant a
commemorative gift. Traditionally, common gifts include books with religious or
educational value, religious items, writing implements, savings bonds (to be used
for the child's college education), gift certificates, or money. Many bar mitzvah also
receive their first tefillin from their parents to be used. Jewelry is a common gift for
girls at a bat mitzvah celebration.