Becoming B. Mitzvah
History
What do we do?
Terms
Terms
100
During what age does someone have a bar / bat mitzvah?
13
100
In what year was the first publicly celebrated BAT mitzvah?
(Your response can be up to 5 years off)
1922
100
What do we do to show we are ready to take on the responsibility of helping the world around us?
Mitzvah Project.
100
Aliyah
Literally "going up", it is the term used for being called up to the Torah
100
Parsha
The specific torah portion that is read each week.
200
What does Bar Mitzvah Mean?
Son of the Commandments
200
What was the name of the first woman to have a Bat Mitzvah?
Judith Kaplan
200
What do some boys wear for the first time during their Bar Mitzvah?
Tefillin
200
Torah
A scroll with the 5 books of Moses - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
200
Siddur
Prayer book
300
What does Bat Mitzvah mean?
Daughter of the Commandments
300
What does the candy often thrown at a bar / bat mitzvah represent?
Wishing for a "Sweet life"
300
Where would the Aliyah take place today?
Usually a Synagogue, but it can be elsewhere as long as there is a group of 10 adults and a torah.
300
Haftarah
A reading from the additional books of Jewish thought.
300
Tallit
Prayer shawl that is worn during services when the Torah is read.
400
TRUE OR FALSE: Bar / Bat Mitzvahs must be on Shabbat
False, they can also be Monday or Thursday when the Torah is read.
400
True or False: B. Mitzvah is a commandment from the Torah.
False: Bar Mitzvah was not a biblical practice. It was introduced during the rabbinic period as a rite where a father, who is satisfied he has raised a son ready to live an engaged Jewish life, comes before his community and recites a blessing in which the father frees himself from monitoring his son's Jewish practices.
400
Why do we give a D'var Torah?
To share what we have learned and begin to accept the responsibility as a Jewish adult.
400
Kippah
Yarmulkah/Head Covering
400
T'fillin
Ritual items (small boxes on leather wraps) that are worn on the forehead and arm.
500
Which text is read during bar / bat mitzvahs?
A reading from the Torah and a Haftorah
500
What was the Jewish coming of Age ceremony called before B. Mitzvah?
Mordecai ben Hillel, a 14th-century scholar, was the first to use the term “bar mitzvah” to refer to someone over the age of 13. Prior to this, terms such as “gadol” (adult) or “bar onshin” (one who is accountable for their own actions) were used.
500
Is a party a part of what we do?
There is a custom of serving a s’udat mitzvah, a meal celebrating the performance of a mitzvah, that began in the middle ages. The importance of celebrating the mitzvah is there; people choose the level of celebration, with more families choosing deeper Jewish connections as part of their celebrations.
500
Minyah
Group of 10 that is needed to hold a service.
500
T'fillah
prayer