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
Bar and Bat Mitzvah throwing some sort of party is traditional and frequently seen as necessary. Bar mitzvah festivities typically include a joyous seudat mitzvah, a celebratory meal with family, friends, and members of the community, the Bar Mitzvah boy delivering on this occasion a learned discourse or oration at the table before the invited guests, who offer him presents, while the rabbi or teacher gives him his blessing, accompanying it at times with an address. Others may celebrate in different ways such as taking the bar or bat mitzvah on a special trip or organizing some special event in the celebrant's honor. In