It was my honour this weekend to be part of a Bat Mitzvah ceremony for the daughter of one of my oldest friends.  The Bat Mitzvah girl has  grown into an engaging, lively, curious and clever young woman and it was lovely to see her take this step into adulthood as she comes of age.

The service included many reflections on what being a woman in our community is, the importance of family, friends and individuality and the many names we gain as we travel through life.

The event also gave me an opportunity to go on a bit about  how bat mitzvahs were established and the wikipedia page I wrote in 2016 for the first bat mitzvah girl, Judith Kaplan Eisenstein. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Kaplan_Eisenstein

As I was telling the story of the first in 1922 and referring to it as ‘fairly recently’, one of the young women of the party did point out that that is now more than 100 years ago. Time has gone so fast.

Nevertheless, I think the words of Judith Kaplan are still hopeful and relevant to the fight for equality   “No thunder sounded. No lightning struck. It all passed very peacefully.”

 

Looking at the Wikipedia page for Bat Mitzvah, I see that it is a subset of the page for Bar Mitzvah. I also notice that the pictures which illustrate the page could do with a refresh, so if you have pictures of your bat mitzvah which you would be happy to release, I may be able to add you to this article for worldwide fame ( but no fortune). Bar and bat mitzvah – Wikipedia