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View synonyms for bar mitzvah

bar mitzvah

or bar miz·vah

[ bahr mits-vuhor, Ashkenazic Hebrew bahr; Sephardic Hebrew bahr meets-vah ]

noun

, (often initial capital letters)
  1. 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.
  2. the boy participating in this ceremony.


verb (used with object)

  1. to administer the ceremony of bar mitzvah to:

    Our son was bar mitzvahed at the family synagogue.

Bar Mitzvah

/ bɑː ˈmɪtsvə /

adjective

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


noun

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

bar mitzvah

  1. 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.”


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Word History and Origins

Origin of bar mitzvah1

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

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bar mitzvah1

Hebrew: son of the law

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Example Sentences

For her piéce de résistance, Minaj makes one awkward, over-excited bar mitzvah boy's dreams come true.

But my Bar Mitzvah rabbi survived the camps, camps he could have probably avoided because of his Aryan looks.

On her Bar Mitzvah year: “I had the busiest social calendar in New York”

More on her Bar Mitzvah year: “Having two dresses for Bar Mitzvah season is like pathetic.”

In August, Horowitz became an Internet sensation when his Bar Mitzvah performance went viral.

Being clever, before he was 13 years old, when he became "Bar Mitzvah," he had gained a thorough Talmudical education.

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

Now I'm called to go to a Bar Mitzvah, but will write you again very soon.

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

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

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