Happiness in Judaism name "Hasidim" was coined, one of the names used to refer to the followers of the new movement was "di freilicha" (), “the happy ones.” The founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov (1698–1760) is quoted as saying "In the eyes of the Hasidim, joy is considered a biblical commandment, a mitzvah." The Hasidic Rebbe, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810) would often say "It is a great mitzvah (commandment) to live in the state of happiness" ("mitzvah gedolah lihiyot b'simcha tamid", ). And Rabbi Aharon of Karlin (I), one of the early Hasidic masters, reportedly said, "There is no
Bar and Bat Mitzvah the minyan" ceremony, in which boys of thirteen and girls of twelve recited a blessing) since the mid-19th century. There were also bat mitzvah rituals held in the 19th century in Iraq. All this may have influenced the American rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, who held the first public celebration of a bat mitzvah in the United States, for his daughter Judith, on March 18, 1922, at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, his synagogue in New York City. Judith Kaplan recited the preliminary blessing, read a portion of that week's Torah portion in Hebrew and English, and then intoned