| Barmitzvah, lit. 'Son of the Commandment', is the term applied to the boy who has reached the age of thirteen years and a day - when, in accordance with Jewish Law, he becomes personally responsible for carrying out the Commandments. 'At thirteen,' says Judah ben Tema, 'the age is reached for the fulfilment of the Commandments,' (Avoth v, 24). Although in the Talmud the term barmitzvah is applied to every adult Jew, there is sufficient evidence to show that the event was marked in early times by a special ceremony. The increased significance of the occasion is a much later development, dating from about 600 years ago. A month before he is Barmitzvah the boy begins training to lay Tefilin. On the Shabbat following his thirteenth birthday, he is called up to the Reading of the Law and may recite a part or the whole of the Sidra, and the Haftorah. |
