Bar and Bat Mitzvah to the event. However, this does not delay the onset of rights and responsibilities of being a Jewish adult which comes about strictly by virtue of age. The obligation to lay tefillin begins when a boy reaches bar mitzvah age. The common custom is for the bar mitzvah boy to begin putting on tefillin one to three months before his bar mitzvah. This way, by the time he is obligated in the commandment, he will already know how to fulfill it properly. The first mention of a party associated with a synagogue bar mitzvah was in the 13th century, so
City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism the Association of Humanistic Rabbis and is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Humanistic Judaism. He also contributes the Humanistic perspective to Moment Magazine's "Ask the Rabbi" column. Among his writings are: "The Liberated Haggadah: A Passover Celebration for Cultural, Secular and Humanistic Jews" (The Center for Cultural Judaism, 2006), "The Guide for a Humanistic Bar/Bat Mitzvah" (The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, 2003), and "A Modern Lamentation: A Memorial to 9/11" (The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, Rosh Hashanah, 2002). Rabbi Schweitzer is also recognized for the major collection of Jewish Americana that he amassed over