בַּר מִצְוָה ( בַּת מִצְוָה)

ביטוי (אנגלית)

Bar Mitzvah/ boy of thirteen (the age at which he assumes religious obligations/ Bat Mitzvah (girl of twelve)

הגדרה (אנגלית)

Bar mitzvah: obligated in the performance of the commandments; a designation for a boy of thirteen, the age at which one enters the yoke of the commandments in Judaism. Bat mitzvah is the corresponding age for girls, twelve.

("He who curses his father... has done a great abomination. His blood is upon him as his blood on his head... It is also not written at what age one becomes Bar Mitzvah" - Ibn Ezra Leviticus 20:9, and also: "A boy of thirteen years enters the commandment, and from that day and beyond he is Bar Mitzvah and obligated in all the commandments; and if his father has not circumcised him until thirteen years, he is obligated to circumcise himself" - Radak Genesis 17:25, and also: "My opinion is very harsh upon me, that he calls me 'young man' and thinks I am Bar Mitzvah" - Sholem Aleichem/London has no remedy but fire! p. 206, and also: "One may lose reason, the bridegroom Tsippa Leah, a Bar Mitzvah boy busy with chicks" - Bialik/Behind the Fence, 8, 105, and also: "All the more so at commandment feasts!... Today an engagement, tomorrow a wedding, and the day after 'brit', today Bar Mitzvah... And behold the yahrzeit of the Rabbi... Between me and myself 'to life' for soul rectification... Melaveh Malka" - H. Hezaz/First Generations, 51)