bar mitzvah

  • Thread starter Thread starter striving
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

striving

Guest
Our dear friends’ son is being Bar Mitzvahed and we were invited to the ceremony and the party. Is it ok to attend? Would you go?
 
Sure go…there is nothing wrong with it. Why wouldnt you go?

*Bar Mitzvah" literally means “son of the commandment.” “Bar” is “son” in Aramaic, which used to be the vernacular of the Jewish people. “Mitzvah” is “commandment” in both Hebrew and Aramaic. ". ****Technically, the term refers to the child who is coming of age, **and it is strictly correct to refer to someone as “becoming a bar (or bat) mitzvah.” **However, the term is more commonly used to refer to the coming of age ceremony itself, and you are more likely to hear that someone is “having a bar mitzvah.” ***

*In its earliest and most basic form, a bar mitzvah is the celebrant’s first aliyah. During Shabbatservices on a Saturday shortly after the child’s 13th birthday, the celebrant is called up to the Torah to recite a blessing over the weekly reading. *

*Today, it is common practice for the bar mitzvah celebrant to do much more than just say the blessing. It is most common for the celebrant to learn the entire haftarah portion, including its traditional chant, and recite that. In some congregations, the celebrant reads the entire weekly torah portion, or leads part of the service, or leads the congregation in certain important prayers. The celebrant is also generally required to make a speech, which traditionally begins with the phrase “today I am a man.” The father traditionally recites a blessing thanking G-d for removing the burden of being responsible for the son’s sins (because now the child is old enough to be held responsible for himself). *

*In modern times, the religious service is followed by a reception that is often as elaborate as a wedding reception. In Orthodox and Chasidic practice, women are not permitted to participate in religious services in these ways, so a bat mitzvah, if celebrated at all, is usually little more than a party. In other movements of Judaism, the girls do exactly the same thing as the boys. *

***It is important to note that a bar mitzvah is not the goal of a Jewish education, nor is it a graduation ceremony marking the end of a person’s Jewish education. We are obligated to study Torah throughout our lives. To emphasize this point, some rabbis require a bar mitzvah student to sign an agreement promising to continue Jewish education after the bar mitzvah. ******Sadly, an alarming number of Jewish parents today view the bar or bat mitzvah as the sole purpose of Jewish education, and treat it almost as a Jewish hazing ritual: I had to go through it, so you have to go through it, but don’t worry, it will all be over soon and you’ll never have to think about this stuff again. ***
jewfaq.org/barmitz.htm
 
am I correct in assuming that as soon as a boy turns 13 he is bar mitzvah, whether or not he participates in the ceremony (and certainly regardless of any party). I have heard older men say they never had their bar mitzvah because they did not have the ceremony for whatever reason. also may I assume that if my Jewish friends invite us to attend the ceremony in the synagogue, as well as the party afterward, that it is indeed acceptable for us to attend and we will not be offending anyone?
 
40.png
asquared:
am I correct in assuming that as soon as a boy turns 13 he is bar mitzvah, whether or not he participates in the ceremony (and certainly regardless of any party). I have heard older men say they never had their bar mitzvah because they did not have the ceremony for whatever reason.
Click to expand...
Dont know I am not Jewish…or that familiar with all of their customs and requirments . But from the website jewfaq.org/barmitz.htm it would seem that is the case.

*Under Jewish Law, children are not obligated to observe the commandments, although they are encouraged to do so as much as possible to learn the obligations they will have as adults. At the age of 13 (12 for girls), children become obligated to observe the commandments. The bar mitzvah ceremony formally marks the assumption of that obligation, along with the corresponding right to take part in leading religious services, to count in a minyan (the minimum number of people needed to perform certain parts of religious services), to form binding contracts, to testify before religious courts and to marry. **A Jewish boy automatically becomes a bar mitzvah upon reaching the age of 13 years, and a girl upon reaching the age of 12 years. No ceremony is needed to confer these rights and obligations. The popular bar mitzvah ceremony is not required, and does not fulfill any commandment. It is certainly not, as one episode of the Simpsons would have you believe, necessary to have a bar mitzvah in order to be considered a Jew! The bar or bat mitzvah is a relatively modern innovation, not mentioned in the Talmud, and the elaborate ceremonies and receptions that are commonplace today were unheard of as recently as a century ago. *
40.png
asquared:
also may I assume that if my Jewish friends invite us to attend the ceremony in the synagogue, as well as the party afterward, that it is indeed acceptable for us to attend and we will not be offending anyone?
Click to expand...
Yes it is acceptable…you wont offend anybody (unless you are crashing the party:) ) .
 
Yes. A male is bar mitzvahed at 13 regardless of whether there’s a hooplah, Scripture reading or whatever. But many men feel they’ve been deprived of something, which is why you’ll see men having bar mitzvah parties in their 30s.
 
Bar Mitzva is just the age you are required to keep religious law - similar to the Idea in europe that with 14 you are adult enough to choose your religion. It’s around the same time.

Girls are bat mitzvah with 12 by the way…

It’s just a rite of passage - some times with big celebration, sometimes without, but the meaning is you are now responsible for your own act in religious sense.

Just a few words. My husband always told me how he suffered that his best friend could not attend his bar mitzva because the church didn’t allow it then - with the background feeling “catholics don’t like jews”.

So I think, it is only interesting for the kid to have the experience of the bar mitzvah, the Hebrew Language, etc.

I think it should be no issues -

my few cents,
Brigitte
 
I would encourage you to go. Catholicism has it’s roots in Judaism, so it’s beneficial to take the opportunity to better understand these roots by learning how our older brethren celebrate God.

Enjoy and rejoice that your friend is committed to knowing and loving God. Then pray that he/she eventually finds the fulness of the truth of salvation as brought to us in Christ, the Messiah.

God Bless,

CARose
 
Thank you all for your responses. We do plan on attending, these are wonderful friends who are more faithful to their beliefs than some of our Catholic friends.

Is anyone else disturbed by the Muslim threads on this site? Frankly, I find these people scarey, their numbers are growing and they do seem to be a more threatening presence in our world with their “fighting words”…jihad, infidels, etc. There seems to be real spiritual warfare going on in our present time. We need to pray…
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top