What is a B'not Mitzvah??? 

To become a bar or bat mitzvah in Jewish tradition means to reach the age of majority. The Mishnah declares that at age 13 a boy becomes responsible for the commandments. The Talmud would later state that girls become responsible at age 12. Today, we regard girls and boys equally and set the age of majority for both at 13. The Hebrew phrase bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah refers to the child who comes of age; it means literally “a person of the commandments.”  B'not Mitzvah is the plural, and recognizes our girls accepting the commandments together. 

Since the time that the Temple stood in Jerusalem, the occasion of becoming bar mitzvah has included special ceremony and blessing. In recent centuries, the occasion was marked by the child reciting the blessings over the Torah or reading the Haftarah portion in the regular worship ceremony in the synagogue. The purpose of these rituals was formally to announce the majority status of the new adult. Since children were forbidden to perform these synagogue rites, the fact that the bar mitzvah was doing it was a signal that he had now attained the age of 13. Today, the ceremony is more extensive as the ritual takes on a second significance – the ceremony marks the culmination of the study of Hebrew and prayer and it expresses a connection to Torah and inspiration for continued study and commitment to Judaism. Our B'not Mitzvah lead the entire service, read the Hebrew prayers, chant the Torah portion, recite the Haftarah portion, and deliver a sermon based on the message of the Torah portion. The ceremony is a formal demonstration of their learning and their competence of basic Jewish liturgical skills. It is a chance for the community to take pride in the child for not only attaining a certain age, but achieving a certain goal.