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  • Word comparison: bar mitzvah vs. bat mitzvah

bar mitzvah vs. bat mitzvah

bar mitzvah

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.

bat mitzvah

noun

(often initial capital letters)
  1. a solemn ceremony, chiefly among Reform and Conservative Jews, that is held in the synagogue on Friday night or Saturday morning to admit formally as an adult member of the Jewish community a girl 12 to 13 years old.
  2. the girl participating in this ceremony.

verb (used with object)

  1. to administer the ceremony of bat mitzvah to.