Bar and Bat Mitzvah "son" (), while "bat" () means "daughter" in Hebrew, and "mitzvah" () means "commandment" or "law" (plural: "mitzvot"). Thus "bar mitzvah" and "bat mitzvah" literally translate to "son of commandment" and "daughter of commandment". However, in rabbinical usage, the word "bar" means "under the category of" or "subject to". "Bar mitzvah" therefore translates to "an [agent] who is subject to the law". Although the term is commonly used to refer to the ritual itself, in fact the phrase originally refers to the person. The modern method of celebrating becoming a bar mitzvah did not exist in the time of the
Adult bar and bat mitzvah The adult bar/bat mitzvah, which can be held at any age, differs from the child's bar/bat mitzvah in that it is usually planned by the person themselves instead of their parents. Due to it taking place at an advanced stage of life, many relatives who are often present at a child's bar/bat mitzvah are deceased, and the person is often married and/or has children and sometimes grandchildren. Many men have second bar mitzvahs at the age of 83, representing 70 years since their first. There are many reasons adult Jews choose to have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah: Rabbi Albert