Adult_bar_and_bat_mitzvah
Adult bar and bat mitzvah
Jewish tradition
An adult bar/bat mitzvah is a bar or bat mitzvah of a person older than the customary age. Traditionally, a bar or bat mitzvah occurs at age 13 for boys and 12 for girls. Many adult Jews who have never had a bar or bat mitzvah, however, may choose to have one later in life, and many who have had one at the traditional age choose to have a second.[1] An adult bar or bat mitzvah can be held at any age after adulthood is reached and can be performed in a variety of ways.[2]
The adult and child bar/bat mitzvot differ in that the former is planned by the person becoming b' mitzvah and the latter by the child's community, caregiver, and/or parent. Due to it taking place at an advanced stage of life, many relatives who were present at a child's bar/bat mitzvah are often deceased, and the person is often married and/or has children and sometimes grandchildren. Many men have second bar mitzvot at age 83; representing 70 years since their first.[3]