Except in Italy, no ceremony parallel to a boy's Bar Mitzvah ceremony developed for girls before the modern age. Though girls became obligated in observance of Jewish law just as boys did, their less public role, particularly in the synagogue, meant that the coming of age was less visible to the community.
The Orthodox Jewish Italian rite for becoming Bat Mitzvah made a great impression on Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, a rabbi who originally was Orthodox, became Conservative, and then became the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. Through his influence at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, in New York, Jews from all branches of non-Orthodox Judaism learned about and emulated this rite. Since the emergence of this custom in America was led by non-Orthodox Jews, at the time most Orthodox rabbis strongly rejected its usage, despite its Italian Orthodox background.
The first public celebration of a Bat Mitzvah happened on March 18, 1922 at the
Society for the Advancement of Judaism in New York City when Judith Kaplan, the
daughter of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, was called to the Torah.
As the ceremony became accepted for females as well as males, many women chose
to celebrate the ceremony even though they were much older, as a way of
formalizing and celebrating their place in the adult Jewish community.
Today, most non-Orthodox Jews celebrate a girl's becoming Bat Mitzvah in the
same way as a boy's becoming Bar Mitzvah. All Reform and Reconstructionist, and
most Conservative synagogues have egalitarian participation in which women may
read from the Torah and lead services. Conservative Judaism is pluralistic, and
a small percent of Conservative synagogues are still concerned about the
halakhic propriety of women reading the Torah portion to men.
Many girls in the non-Orthodox movements celebrate becoming Bat Mitzvah at age
13, like the Jewish boys, rather than at the actual age 12. However, this is
basically a moot issue, as non-Orthodox Jews do not follow the obligatory
requirements of the Torah as prescribed by their Orthodox counterparts.
The majority of Orthodox Judaism rejects the idea that a woman can publicly read
from the Torah or lead prayer services, but the public celebration of a girl
becoming Bat Mitzvah has made strong inway in Modern Orthodox Judaism and in
some elements of Haredi Judaism, especially Chabad Lubavitch. In these
congregations women do not read from the Torah or lead prayer services; however
Orthodox girls will lecture on a Jewish topic to mark their coming of age, learn
a book of Tanakh or seder of Mishnah, recite the verses from other texts (such
as the Book of Esther or Psalms) or prayers from the siddur.
Jewish adult responsibilities
Once a child is Bar or Bat Mitzvah, he or she is responsible for participating
in all the mitzvot. He or she is not innocent anymore, and is responsible for
his or her own actions (good or bad). Traditionally, the parents of the Bar or
Bat Mitzvah give thanks to God that they no longer have to carry the burden of
their child's sins.
As an adult, the new "Bar Mitzvahed" individual is eligible to be called to read
from the Torah, to participate in a Minyan, and even (in theory) to be married
according to Jewish law. (In Orthodox sects, only males read from the Torah or
participate in a Minyan).
The source of this article is
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