Bereavement in Judaism as Rosh Hashanah, cancel the mourning period completely. The thirty-day period following burial (including "shiva") is known as "shloshim" (). During "shloshim", a mourner is forbidden to marry or to attend a "seudat mitzvah" (religious festive meal). Men do not shave or get haircuts during this time. Since Judaism teaches that a deceased person can still benefit from the merit of "mitzvot" (commandments) performed in their memory, it is considered a special privilege to bring merit to the departed by learning Torah in their name. A popular custom is to coordinate a group of people who will jointly study the
Bar and Bat Mitzvah the family and the community. Bar mitzvah is mentioned in the Mishnah (Ethics of the Fathers, ) and in the Talmud. In some classic sources the age of 13 appears for instance as the age from which males must fast on the Day of Atonement, while females fast from the age of 12. The age of b'nai mitzvah roughly coincides with physical puberty. The bar or bat mitzvah ceremony is usually held on the first Shabbat after a boy's thirteenth and a girl's twelfth birthday (or thirteenth in Reform congregations). "Bar" () is a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic word literally meaning