Seudat mitzvah Seudat mitzvah A seudat mitzvah (, "commanded meal"), in Judaism, is an obligatory festive meal, usually referring to the celebratory meal following the fulfillment of a "mitzvah" (commandment), such as a bar mitzvah, a wedding, a "brit milah" (ritual circumcision), or a "siyum" (completing a tractate of Talmud or Mishnah). "Seudot" fixed in the calendar (i.e., for holidays and fasts) are also considered "seudot mitzvah", but many have their own, more commonly used, names. Attendance at a "brit milah" (circumcision) and its subsequent "seudah" is of such great significance that Rabbi Moshe Isserles ("the Rama") notes ("Yoreh De'ah" 265:12) that
Bar and Bat Mitzvah bar mitzvah age, 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. Traditionally, the father of the bar mitzvah gives thanks to God that he is no longer punished for the child's sins (Genesis Rabbah, Toledot 63). In addition to being considered accountable for their actions from a religious perspective, a thirteen-year-old male may be counted towards a prayer quorum and may lead prayer and other religious services in