by D.Chazan

Created on: May 15, 2008   Last Updated: May 12, 2011

A Bat Mitzvah is when a Jewish girl reaches the age of 12 and can become considered as a full, adult member of the community. In some circles, planning a Bat Mitzvah is nothing more than having a big party, and while others do more traditional things to celebrate the event. More Conservative and even Orthodox Jews will host a special Shabbat lunch where the girl will prepare a type of sermon about that week’s Torah portion. More liberal Jews (Reform, Reconstructionist and liberal Conservatives) will treat a girl exactly as they do a boy, with any or all the rituals that this entails.

If you want your daughter’s Bat Mitzvah to be just like a boy’s Bar Mitzvah, the first thing you should do is make sure that your congregation allows girls the same privilege as boys. Next you’ll want to find out when her Hebrew birthday is, and what Torah portion corresponds to that date. It is highly advisable to reserve the date for the synagogue early – even as far in advance as a whole year. After that, your synagogue will probably offer your daughter classes in reading from the Torah and assist them in learning their portion. Find out from your daughter just how much she’s willing to do, and then consult with a teacher to find out how much training your daughter will need.

When you know what your daughter will be doing at the synagogue on her Bat Mitzvah, you'll then need to set up regular lessons for her with her teacher. If your teacher is a member of the synagogue, or works for your congregation, some of her lessons could be coordinated to take place just after a Shabbat prayer service. In this way, you can bring your daughter to synagogue so she can witness the rituals around the Torah readings. Some congregations like to get all the children studying for their Bar & Bat Mitzvahs together in a type of youth group, who meet each other and talk about Jewish traditions and what becoming a member of the community means.

Of course, not all children (boys or girls) will have the ability to learn to read the Hebrew to read from the Torah or even recite the Haftarah. If you start your daughter early enough, she should be able to learn at the very least, the blessings for before and after reading from the Torah, and at least one of the portions - which is usually the last one, known as the Maftir. If this is also difficult, just having the child be called to the Torah and doing the blessings could be enough. In this case, your child might

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