Jump to content

Adult bar and bat mitzvah

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An adult bar/bat mitzvah is a bar or bat mitzvah of a Jewish person older than the customary age. Traditionally, a bar or bat mitzvah occurs at age 13 for boys and 12 for girls. Adult Jews who have never had a bar or bat mitzvah may choose to have one later in life, and many who have had one at the traditional age choose to have a second.[1] An adult bar or bat mitzvah can be held at any age after adulthood is reached and can be performed in a variety of ways.[2]

The adult and child b'nai mitzvot differ mainly in planning; adults plan their own celebrations, while children's are organized by their community or parent(s). Additionally, many relatives of the child may have passed away, and the adult often has a family of their own. Some Jewish men hold a second bar mitzvah at age 83, marking 70 years since their first, with 83 symbolizing Moses’s age when he and Aaron, his brother, first demanded the Israelites' freedom from Pharaoh.[3][4]

Reasons

[edit]

There are many reasons adult Jews choose to have a bar or bat mitzvah:

  • Many adult men and women did not have a bat mitzvah as children due to lack of popularity and/or restrictive gender norms.
  • Individuals with learning disabilities that made the process of preparing for their bar or bat mitzvah too difficult during childhood.
  • Adults who have converted to Judaism may want a bar or bat mitzvah.
  • Many non-religious Jews who had little or no Jewish education as children.
  • Those who have had a bar or bat mitzvah as children decide to undergo renewal.
  • Transgender Jews who had a bar or bat mitzvah as their gender assigned at birth may wish to have the other one as an adult using their new gender and name.
  • Many Holocaust survivors didn't have the opportunity to have a bar or bat mitzvah.

History

[edit]

Rabbi Albert Axelrad of Brandeis University officiated the first adult bar and bat mitzvahs in the early 1970s. He encouraged the practice in all denominations of Judaism.[5]

Between 1995 and 2001, Hadassah held group adult Bat Mitzvah ceremonies for 180 women.[6]

In 2001, the Union for Reform Judaism created a guide on adult bar and bat mitzvah programs which was adopted by 900 congregations. In 2002, the Conservative Movement adopted this guide as well.[6]

Process

[edit]

The process of becoming a bar or bat mitzvah for adults involves studying for a year or longer. It consists of Hebrew language, Jewish rituals, Torah readings, and Haftorah readings. Many synagogues provide classes for adults.

Notable adult bar and bat mitzvahs

[edit]

In popular culture, there have been depictions of adult bar mitzvahs on TV shows:

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Marcus, I.G. (2013). The Jewish Life Cycle: rites of passage from biblical to modern times. University of Washington Press. p. 121. ISBN 9780295803920. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  2. ^ "Bar Mitzvah for an Adult? – Bar Mitzvah". chabad.org. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  3. ^ Exodus 7:7
  4. ^ "Adult Bar Bat Mitzvah". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  5. ^ "History of Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah – My Jewish Learning". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  6. ^ a b "Finding My Religion". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  7. ^ "Paula Abdul Celebrates Bat Mitzvah In Safed, Israel Known For Kabbalah (VIDEO)". HuffPost. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  8. ^ "No Western Wall bat mitzvah for Paula Abdul after all | Jewish Telegraphic Agency". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  9. ^ "Armand Hammer Dead at 92 on Eve of His Bar Mitzvah | Jewish Telegraphic Agency". jta.org. 12 December 1990. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  10. ^ Simpson, Kaitlin (21 December 2022). "Stars Who've Had Bar and Bat Mitzvahs: Mason Disick, Drake, More". Us Weekly. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  11. ^ "World's oldest man, Yisrael Kristal, 113, to hold bar mitzvah". BBC News. 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  12. ^ "World's oldest man marks bar mitzvah, 100 years late". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  13. ^ "She's Sarah Silverman's Sister — and Just Officiated Tiffany Haddish's Bat Mitzvah". 5 December 2019.
  14. ^ Simpson, Kaitlin (21 December 2022). "Stars Who've Had Bar and Bat Mitzvahs: Mason Disick, Drake, More". Us Weekly. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  15. ^ Armstrong, Megan (25 October 2017). "Drake Holds a Star-Studded 'Re-Bar Mitzvah' For His 31st Birthday". Billboard. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  16. ^ Bandler, JTA and Aaron (9 November 2017). "Rapper Drake Throws a Re-Bar Mitzvah Party on His 31st Birthday". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  17. ^ Simpson, Kaitlin (21 December 2022). "Stars Who've Had Bar and Bat Mitzvahs: Mason Disick, Drake, More". Us Weekly. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  18. ^ Simpson, Kaitlin (21 December 2022). "Stars Who've Had Bar and Bat Mitzvahs: Mason Disick, Drake, More". Us Weekly. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  19. ^ Cierra, Gerardo (February 2, 2024). "Don Francisco celebra segundo Bar Mitzvah rodeado de familia y amigos". Retrieved 2024-08-11.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adult_bar_and_bat_mitzvah&oldid=1270866637"