An adult Jew is obligated to obey
the mitzvos—the commandments—and is held responsible for his or her
actions. A child is not. At what point does a child become an adult? According
to Jewish law, the age of majority—when a minor ceases to be a minor—is twelve
for a girl and thirteen for a boy. At this point the child becomes a bar or
bas mitzvah—“one who is commanded”—a person who is bound by the laws of
the Torah.
The law that a Jew becomes an
adult at the ages of twelve or thirteen is not to be found in the actual text
of the Torah. Nevertheless, it is a Torah law with equal stature to all the
laws of the Torah. The technical term for such a law is a halacha l’Moshe
m’Sinai—a law from Moses at Sinai—a product of the authoritative Oral Torah
which God gave to Moses at Sinai together with the Written Torah. It is this
Oral Torah—which is largely recorded in the Talmud and related works—that distinguishes Judaism from the various man-made religions that are loosely
based upon Scripture. It is significant that the very
essence of one’s status as a Jew—a person who is bound by the laws of the
Torah—is dependent upon a law derived from the Oral Torah. When we celebrate a bar
or bas mitzvah, we are also confirming our faith in the Oral Torah.
Technically, no celebration is
necessary for a child to become a bar mitzvah. There is no actual ritual
of bar or bas mitzvah; one does not become “bar mitzvahed”. In
this respect, the bar or bas mitzvah is significantly different from
the various other life-cycle celebrations of Judaism, such as the bris milah
(circumcision), pidyon haben (redemption of the first-born son), and
marriage. Despite this, the practice of celebrating the arrival of a Jewish child
into adulthood—becoming a bar mitzvah—is a very ancient custom.
The commentaries tell us that the
joy of the bar mitzvah celebration is based on the important Talmudic
principle, “Greater is he who does what he is commanded to do, than he who does
what he is not commanded to do.” The Talmud tells us that there is greater
virtue in performing a mitzvah that one is obligated to perform, than
one which one is exempt from. Thus, although a Jewish child may be fulfilling
many mitzvos, it is only as an adult, when he or she becomes obligated
to obey the mitzvos of the Torah, that the true virtue of the mitzvos
can take effect. It is this change in status that we celebrate.
This somewhat counter-intuitive
principle, that the obligatory performance of a mitzvah is of greater
virtue than a voluntary act, points us to an important concept in Judaism. The
essential virtue of the mitzvos is precisely that they are
commandments—laws that we are obligated to obey. Although most of the mitzvos
are subject to human understanding, in that we can provide some explanation for
why God has commanded us to perform these given acts, such an understanding is
secondary to the essence of the mitzvah. Our primary goal in obeying the
mitzvos is simply to obey the will of God.
One of the classic difficulties
in religious philosophy is understanding how it is possible for a human being—a
finite, limited, physical being—to achieve a true connection and unity with a
God Who is infinite and incomprehensible. In Judaism, this connection is called
devekus and is described as the essential goal of all the mitzvos.
The mitzvos are a gift to us from God that enable us to achieve this
otherwise impossible union. When God commands us to perform a given act, even
one as corporeal as eating a festive meal on the Sabbath, He has invested that act
with His Will. Thus, when we perform that physical act, we achieve a connection
with the Will of God.
We say in the Shema, “Hashem
Echad”—“God is one.” This basic principle of Judaism, the absolute unity of
God, tells us that God has no parts; He and His Will are one. When we achieve a
connection with the Will of God, we are connecting to God Himself. This is only
possible because God has connected the given act with His Will. This is the
essence of the mitzvah concept. An act that is not commanded by God, as
positive as it may be, is ultimately a finite act that cannot, in of itself,
achieve devekus—true union with God. Thus, many commentaries connect the
word mitzvah with the Aramaic term “tzavsa” – “binding” – because
the mitzvah binds us to God.
When a Jewish child enters adulthood and becomes obligated to obey the mitzvos, it becomes
possible for him or her to truly connect to God. It is this which is the source
of our joy when we celebrate a bar or bas mitzvah. It is
therefore important that the tenor of our celebration reflect this.
