Bat mitzvah – coming of age for girls בַּת מִצְוָה
A Jewish girl becomes bat mitzvah – obligated in the commandments – at 12 by the Hebrew calendar, a year earlier than a boy. Like the bar mitzvah, the obligation comes with age; the celebration is a later custom.
The source
The Mishnah sets the age of legal adulthood for a girl at twelve years and a day (Niddah 45b; Mishnah Niddah 5:6). The Sages explain that a girl matures earlier and so her obligation starts sooner.
The celebration
Celebrating a bat mitzvah became common only in the 19th–20th centuries. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein held that it is not a seudat mitzvah and should not be held in the synagogue sanctuary (Igrot Moshe, Orach Chayim 1:104); Rabbi Ovadia Yosef encouraged a festive meal with words of Torah, as a way to welcome the girl into the mitzvot. Today many families mark it with a meal, a talk by the girl, a learning project or an act of chessed.
In Orthodox communities the girl does not read from the Torah; in non-Orthodox communities she often does.
Sources
Talmud and halachic sources
- Mishnah Niddah 5:6; Talmud, Niddah 45b
- Igrot Moshe, Orach Chayim 1:104; Yabia Omer, Orach Chayim 6:29
Frequently asked questions
- Why is a bat mitzvah at 12 and a bar mitzvah at 13?
- The Sages set a girl’s age of maturity one year earlier, as girls generally mature earlier.
- Is a bat mitzvah party a religious obligation?
- No. The obligation in mitzvot begins automatically; the celebration is a custom, encouraged by some rabbis when it has Torah content.
- What does a girl do at her bat mitzvah?
- Often she prepares a talk on a Torah topic, takes on a mitzvah project or learns a subject in depth, and celebrates with family.
- How is the date set?
- By the Hebrew birthday, twelve years after birth.