Bar / Bat / Jag Mitzvah

What is a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? Bar Mitzvah, reading of the Torah,Tefilim Bar Mitzvah, is the the coming of age for Jewish children. It is the moment at age 13 for a young man, or age 12 for a young woman, that he or she begins to be responsible for his religious obligations. From this moment on, he or she begins to have, like other adults, both rights and responsibilities. At this point they are included in a Minyan and may be called to the Torah. They have all of the religious obligations of all oother adults including following the 613 commandments of the Torah. Did you know? The actual ceremony celebrating the Bar/Bat Mitzvah did not exist in biblical times in either the Mishnah or the Talmud. Th term Bar Mitzvah first appeared in the Talmud in order to define someone who is subject to Hashem´s commandments. In the Mishnah, 13 years old is described as the age that a person is obligated to observe the 613 commandments. Pirkei Avot 5:24, at the age of 5 years old the study of Torah should begin and at 10 years old the study of the Mishnah should begin. At the age of 13 they become responsible for keeping these commitments. It is also said that after the Bar/Bat Mitzvah, as it is interpreted today, Rabbis may hold these "new adults", responsible for there actions making it possible for them to be punished if they do something that is incorrect under Jewish law.