bar mitzvah

or bar miz·vah

[ bahr mits-vuh or, Ashkenazic Hebrew bahr; Sephardic Hebrew bahr meets-vah ]
/ bɑr ˈmɪts və or, Ashkenazic Hebrew bɑr; Sephardic Hebrew ˌbɑr mitsˈvɑ /
Judaism.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR bar mitzvah ON THESAURUS.COM

noun (often initial capital letters)

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.
the boy participating in this ceremony.

verb (used with object)

to administer the ceremony of bar mitzvah to: Our son was bar mitzvahed at the family synagogue.
Compare bat mitzvah.

Origin of bar mitzvah

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH bar mitzvah

bar mitzvah bas mitzvah bat mitzvah

Words nearby bar mitzvah

bar joist, bar kochba, bar kokba, bar line, bar magnet, bar mitzvah, bar none, bar pin, bar pit, bar sinister, bar tack

Example sentences from the Web for bar mitzvah

  • If it please God, you will be 'Bar-Mitzvah' in three years—may you live to a hundred and twenty.

    Jewish Children |Sholem Naumovich Rabinovich

  • But it was not till he was on the point of Bar-Mitzvah (confirmation at thirteen) that the blow fell.

    Ghetto Tragedies |Israel Zangwill

  • It was shortly after my confirmation,—I mean my—my Bar-Mitzvah.

    Simon Eichelkatz; The Patriarch |Ulrich Frank

  • Still, at any cost, he had determined not to miss so important an event as his nephew's bar-mitzvah.

    Rabbi and Priest |Milton Goldsmith

British Dictionary definitions for bar mitzvah

Bar Mitzvah
/ (bɑː ˈmɪtsvə) sometimes not capitals Judaism /

adjective

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

noun

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

Word Origin for Bar Mitzvah

Hebrew: son of the law

Cultural definitions for bar mitzvah

bar mitzvah
[ (bahr mits-vuh) ]

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.”