Today, I am a man

[weirddave]

It's a tradition in Jewish households. When your child reaches the age of 13, he or she has his or her bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah. During that ceremony, traditionally the youth declares "Today, I am a man"*. It's a recognition of the youth transitioning to adolescence and then to adulthood. I really like the idea (There's a lot of things I like

Comments

[davew0071]

The bar mitzvah ceremony has more portent than just recognizing that a child has reached a certain age. The Torah studies that a kid goes through in preparing for it are so that he can demonstrate his ability to meet the requirements needed to take part in Temple activities and religious ceremonies. It's not exactly an ordination ceremony, but it has tremendous significance for the religious aspects of the kid, his family, and the Temple community.

Barb says she doesn't remember if she said, "Today I am a woman" at her bat mitzvah. Hey, it was 37 years ago. Although she could probably recall what earrings she wore that day.