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bat mitzvah

noun

  1. Jewish coming-of-age ceremony/celebration for a 12- or 13-year-old girl
  2. a Jewish girl who at 12 or more years of age assumes religious responsibilities
L1013907 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /bɑt ˈmɪtsvə/

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Hebrew בַּת מִצְוָה (bát mitsvá, “bat mitzvah, someone who has come of age”).

  1. A Jewish coming of age ceremony for a girl.
  2. A girl who has come of age.

verb

Etymology: Borrowed from Hebrew בַּת מִצְוָה (bát mitsvá, “bat mitzvah, someone who has come of age”).

  1. To initiate (someone) in a bat mitzvah ceremony.

    Passing the Congregation Shearith Israel on Central Park West[…], Professor Solanka scurrying through the downpour remembered the newly bat-mitzvahed thirteen-year-old girl he’d glimpsed through the side door, waiting knife in hand for the ceremony of the blessing of the bread.

    Though I was bat mitzvah’d, my parents always made it clear that they weren’t big proponents of organized religion either. But being Jewish was still woven into the fabric of my upbringing with rituals, family history and core values.