The present way for celebrating a child becoming a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah did not exist in the time of the Bible, Mishnah or Talmud. This ceremony developed in medieval times. The current practice of celebrating a Bar Mitzvah is that on a Shabbat shortly after his 13th birthday, a boy may recite the blessings for the Torah reading, read from the Torah and Haftara, and give a d'var Torah, a discussion of that week's Torah portion. He can also lead part or all of the Morning Prayer services.

Sometimes the Bar Mitzvah celebration is combined with another service that includes reading from the Torah, such as a Shabbat afternoon service, Monday or Thursday morning service or a morning service on Rosh Chodesh, the new moon. The Bar Mitzvah service is usually followed by a celebratory meal with friends, family and members of the community. In the recent times, the Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah celebration is sometimes delayed for reasons such as availability of a Shabbat during which no other celebration has been scheduled, or the desire to permit family to travel to the event. However this does not delay the onset of rights and responsibilities of being a Jewish adult, which comes about strictly by virtue of age.

Many Jewish boys or girls do not have a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah celebration, because the family is too poor or do not belong to a Synagogue or Shul. In these situations, the 13th birthday is considered the child's coming of age. Not having a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah celebration does not make the child becoming an adult any less of a Jew. Although some people wish to be "Bar Mitzvahed" as an expression of their faith, this has no religious significance. "Bar Mitzvahed" is an incorrect use of the term as a participle. The proper way to say it is "to become a Bar Mitzvah".

There was no ceremony similar to a boy's Bar Mitzvah ceremony developed for girls’ Bat Mitzvah before the modern age. The first public celebration of a Bat Mitzvah happened on March 18, 1922 at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism in New York City for Judith Kaplan, daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. As the Bat Mitzvah ceremony became accepted for females as well as males, many women chose to celebrate the Bat Mitzvah ceremony even though they were much older, as a way of formalizing and celebrating their place in the adult Jewish community.

Today, most non-Orthodox Jews celebrate a girl's becoming Bat Mitzvah in the same way as a boy's becoming Bar Mitzvah. Many girls in the non-Orthodox movements celebrate becoming Bat Mitzvah at age 13, like the Jewish boys, rather than at the actual age 12.

Orthodox Judaism rejects the idea that a woman can publicly read from the Torah or lead prayer services, but the public Bat Mitzvah celebration of a girl becoming Bat Mitzvah has made strong in roads in Modern Orthodox Judaism. In these congregations women do not lead prayer services or read from the Torah. However, Orthodox girls will lecture on a Jewish topic to mark their coming of age, learn a book of Tanakh or seder of Mishnah, recite the verses from other textsor prayers from the siddur.

Among religious Jews, it is customary for a man who is fortunately enough to reach the age of 83 to celebrate a second Bar Mitzvah, under the logic that a "normal" lifespan is 70 years, so that an 83-year-old can be considered 13 in a second lifetime. This Bar Mitzvah practice is now becoming more popular among the less orthodox denominations.

A Bar Mitzvah celebration is usually held after the Bar Mitzvah services, so you should ensure your custom Bar Mitzvah invitations are appropriate for the Bar Mitzvah celebration!

Links to our unique Bar Mitzvah invitations, affordable Bat Mitzvah announcements, cheap Bar Mitzvah cards and personalized Bar Mitzvah thank you cards.