Bat Mitzvah preparation

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-22-2005
Bat Mitzvah preparation
3
Tue, 12-12-2006 - 2:47pm

Hi everyone. I should have realized not everyone understands what a Bat Mitzvah is. Literally it means "Daughter of the commandment". Every Jewish female at the age of 12 is called to the Torah to read from it (Torah, which is in essence the Jewish bible). I was not able to do this ceremony when I was 12 as I had a lot of health issues. Since October 2005, I have been studying for my Adult Bat Mitzvah, which includes learning Hebrew, cantillation (the musical notes to chant from the Torah) and Jewish history (modern and ancient). Jewish boys have their bar mitzvah (son of the commandment) at age 13. The service is very prayerful and spiritual. It is followed by a 'party' which can be adult-centric or teen-centric. I am having a family brunch in mid March in my hometown. I have been studying very hard as I have a hearing impairment so my language skills have been a bit off. This was the one gift my husband wanted for me. I started on my 44th birthday and I will finish on February 24. I have a Hebrew tutor every week. My brother was bar mitzvahed when he was 13 and my sister had her adult bat mitzvah in Israel several years ago so it is now my turn.

Sunshine

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 12-12-2006 - 4:06pm

Wow... I love hearing about this!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-20-2001
Tue, 12-12-2006 - 8:00pm
Hi Sunshine!! Thank you so much for sharing that with us! I am familiar with some of the aspects of the Bat Mitzvah but didn't know all the details- thanks for sharing! I didn't know it means "Daughter of the Commandment"! :-)
Hugs,
~Victoria
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-13-2006 - 7:12pm
Congratulations. wonderful. I am also jewish, you may have seen I am having a cochlear implant, is this anything you would qualify for? Love, leila