While ancient texts define the age of religious majority at 13 for boys and 12 for girls, it is only in more recent times that a ceremony and celebration accompanied this coming-of-age ritual. Initially, it consisted of a simple blessing from the father and the boy’s first tying of tefillin. Beginning in the 16th century, bar mitzvahs became increasingly ceremonial, and it was only in the 20th century that bat mitzvahs were added to the ceremonial repertoire.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style