Bar/bat Mitzvah in a new, meaningful way, expand their world
Bar Mitzvah (Hebrew : בר מצוה) (plural: B'nai Mitzvah ) and Bat Mitzvah (Hebrew: בת מצוה) (plural: B'not Mitzvah ) are Jewishcoming of age rituals. Bar (בר) is a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic word literally meaning son (ben (בן) in Hebrew), bat (בת) is Hebrew for daughter, and mitzvah (מצוה) is a commandment and a law. While this literally translates to "son of commandment" or "daughter of commandment", the rabbinical phrase "bar" means "under the category of" or "subject to". "Barmitzvah" therefore translates to "an [agent] who is subject to the law".
According to Jewish law , when Jewish boys become 13 years old, they become accountable for their actions and become a barmitzvah. A girl becomes a bat mizvah at the age of 12. Most non-Orthodox Jews celebrate a girl's bat mitzvah in the same way as a boy's barmitzvah. Prior to reaching bar or bat mitzvah, the child's parents hold the responsibility for the child's actions. After this age, the boys and girls bear their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics, and are able to participate in all areas of Jewish community life.
Reaching the age of bar or bat Mitzvah signifies becoming a full-fledged member of the Jewish community with the responsibilities that come with it. These include moral responsibility for own actions, eligibility to be called to read from the Torah and lead or participate in a minyan, may possess personal property, may be legally married according to Jewish law, must follow the 613 laws of the Torah and keep the halakha, may testify as a witness in a Beth Din (Rabbinical court) case. Many congregations require pre-barmitzvah children to attend a minimum number of Shabbat prayer services at the synagogue, study at a Hebrew school, take on a charity or community service project, and maintain membership in good standing with the synagogue.
To this end, Globe Aware one week community service projects abroad offer an exciting way to serve a needy community and expand your teen’s world perspective all at once. All of our programs, except our Thailand program (which has a minimum age requirement of 16) are appropriate for 13 year olds. Not only will your son or daughter have a great time while serving others, they will learn about the real beauties and challenges of another culture. Freed from electronics and the day-to-day hustle and bustle, your family will learn the joy of working with locals as equals on projects which are important to them, learn how they cook, how they spend their free time, celebrate a new bonding experience for your family and create memories for a lifetime. Children under the age of 17 get a 10% discount and the entire cost of the program and the airfare are tax deductible against your income. Surrounded by privilege, few get the opportunity to really appreciate what they have. The Globe Aware Bar/Bat Mitzvah offers a unique and meaningful way to achieve this.