Bar and Bat Mitzvah
QFL:
Can I define ‘Bar Mitzvah?’
Can I describe what happens during a Bar Mitzvah ceremony?
Homework
SAM learning – KS3 Religious Education – Why is
Bar/Bat Mitzvah important?
Due
Next lesson
Starter
Describe a day which was very special in your life.
What was it that made it so special?
Key Term
Torah
Rabbi
Shabbat
Synagogue
Tefillin
Hebrew
Kosher
Shema
Tallit
Meaning
Which is the correct definition
for each key term?
• Two small leather boxes wound by straps around the
forehead & arm. They contain 4 passages from the
Torah.
• Teacher or master.
• Food which Jews are allowed.
• Ceremony which marks the coming of age of a
Jewish boy at 13 years of age.
• Jewish holy day of rest.
• Language in which Jewish scriptures are written.
• Jewish place of worship.
• Jewish scriptures.
• Jewish prayer shawl
At what age do you think a person becomes an
‘adult?’
What makes a person an ‘adult?’ and not a
child anymore?
In the Jewish there are two answers to ‘when
does a person become an adult?’
- A girl is recognised by the Jewish community
as an adult when she reaches her twelfth
birthday.
- A boy has to wait a year longer before the
Jewish community accepts that he has
become an adult.
When a boy reaches his thirteenth
birthday, he is considered old enough to
take personal responsibility for living
out the commandments of the Torah in
his own life. Until now his father has
taken on the responsibility for his son’s
spiritual welfare. But from now on he
carries that responsibility himself.
From a very early age each Jewish boy
is taught about he history of his
religion, his religious faith and the
Hebrew language. He is taught both at
home by his father and in the synagogue
by the rabbi.
The ceremony
His Bar Mitzvah is a great and
important day in the life of every
Jewish boy. There are several parts to
the celebrations:
A ‘calling up’ to the front during the
synagogue service. It is always a great
honour for a Jewish man to take part in
a synagogue service. A boy is given this
honour on his Bar Mitzvah. He can be
invited to read from the Torah in public
for the first time or to lead prayers.
The father’s blessing. The father gives
thanks to God that his son has reached
adulthood. Until now the father has
accepted responsibility for his son’s
spiritual welfare. Now the son must take
that responsibility on himself.
“Blessed is the One who has freed me from the responsibility
for this child’s conduct.”
i) What do you think the word ‘blessed’ means?
ii) Who is the ‘One’ referred to here?
iii) What has the father been responsible for?
iv) Who takes the responsibility from now onwards?
A gathering. Friends and relations
coming together for a boy’s Bar
Mitzvah. During the party after the
service the boy makes a short speech.
He thanks his parents and teachers for
their influence on him.
From this time onwards a boy will wear
two important objects which show that
he is accepted as an adult member of
the Jewish community. They are his
tefillin and tallit.
Why do you think this is the greatest day in the life of
this boy so far?
Watch the clip on a boy’s Bar Mitzvah.
Make sure you jot down what you
see/learn – you will need this in your
written task at the end.
Imagine you are a Jewish boy. You have
had your Bar Mitzvah. Write a diary
entry describing your day. Make sure
you use your key terms that you wrote
down earlier.
Include what you would be looking
forward to most of all and what changes
might happen in his life from this time
onwards.