Faith is an incredibly complex facet of humanity. We have spent thousands of years contemplating the nature of the divine, Gods, the after life and our place in the cosmology of such things. Faith is an incredibly intimate and personal journey that takes an individual through many stages of life, leading them to challenge and to consider the very nature of morality and virtue and what they mean to us on a wider, individual scale. Looking for commentary on biblical scripture was where I began my own journey into faith and what faith could mean for me, what God meant for me; it’s not something I have ever been able to rationalize or even approach others about. Each person seems to have his or her opinion on what it means to have faith and what their faith can do for them.
The Jewish Coming of Age Ritual or Bar Mitzvah
The Bar Mitzvah, which is also known in Hebrew as the is the Jewish Coming of age ritual for boys. The word originates from Jewish Aramaic and can very loosely be translated into “a son who is subject to the law” in English.
Jewish Law
According to Jewish rabbinical (religious) law, when a male child who is part of the Jewish faith turns 13 he then becomes accountable for his actions and is seen as Bar Mitzvah. This now means that the boy is old enough to be subject to all Jewish law because he is old enough to understand the Jewish Torah. This effectively means that in the eyes of the Jewish religious laws he is seen as an adult and from this point onwards he is seen as accountable for his religious actions. This directly translates (in a physical and spiritual sense) into the boy being able to be counted towards a prayer quorum and enables him to be able to lead prayers and other religious services within the family or Jewish community unit. Continue reading