bar mitzvah

or bar miz·vah

[ bahr mits-vuhor, Ashkenazic Hebrew bahr; Sephardic Hebrew bahr meets-vah ]

noun

, (often initial capital letters)

1. a solemn ceremony held in the synagogue, usually on Saturday morning, to admit as an adult member of the Jewish community a Jewish boy 13 years old who has successfully completed a prescribed course of study in Judaism.
2. the boy participating in this ceremony.

verb (used with object)

1. to administer the ceremony of bar mitzvah to:

   Our son was bar mitzvahed at the family synagogue.

Bar Mitzvah

/ bɑː ˈmɪtsvə /

adjective

1. (of a Jewish boy) having assumed full religious obligations, being at least thirteen years of age

noun

1. the occasion, ceremony, or celebration of that event
2. the boy himself on that day

bar mitzvah

1. An important ceremony and social event in Judaism marking the beginning of religious responsibility for Jewish boys of thirteen. Bar mitzvah is Hebrew for “son of the commandment.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of bar mitzvah¹

1860–65; < Biblical Aramaic bar son + Hebrew miṣwāh divine law, commandment

Word History and Origins

Origin of bar mitzvah¹

Hebrew: son of the law

Example Sentences

I was once invited to a bar mitzvah on an Alaskan cruise to Alaska.

From Salon

“If you go on YouTube, you can see on Letterman, David would cut me off, and go, ‘You mean it was the bar mitzvah from hell?’

From New York Times

It is the story of “Old Town Road,” his breakout song, which went from TikTok curiosity to bar mitzvah anthem in just a few months in early 2019.

From New York Times

He was raised by a Catholic father and a Jewish mother and was both baptized and had a bar mitzvah, but “it felt fake because I never invested,” he told Barron.

From Los Angeles Times

Earlier this year, Gersh said, she and her family were in Israel for her cousin’s bar mitzvah and visited the kibbutz.

From Los Angeles Times