Bar and Bat Mitzvah the commandments . . ." The Talmud gives 13 as the age at which a boy's vows are legally binding, and states that this is a result of his being a "man", as required in . The term "bar mitzvah", in the sense it is now used, cannot be clearly traced earlier than the 14th century, the older rabbinical term being "gadol" (adult) or "bar 'onshin" (legally responsible for own misdoings). Many sources indicate that the ceremonial observation of a bar mitzvah developed in the Middle Ages, however, there are extensive earlier references to thirteen as the age of majority
Who is a Jew? are given male names and that biblical characters are always referenced by their fathers' names. However, a minority of modern Karaites believe that Jewish identity requires that both parents be Jewish, and not only the father. The divergence of views has become an issue because Orthodox and Conservative communities do not recognize a person as Jewish if only their father is Jewish. For the person to be accepted as Jewish by an Orthodox or Conservative community (for example, on an occasion of their bar/bat mitzvah or marriage), they require a formal conversion (in accordance with halakhic standards). Orthodox Judaism has