By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO — When Jewish children turn thirteen they become adults in the eyes of the Jewish community and are responsible for observing the mitzvot (commandments) on their own. We call this status “Bar or Bat Mitzvah,” which means, “son or daughter of the commandments,” but more correctly, “responsible for following the commandments.” A Bar or Bat Mitzvah is not longer a katan, a minor, but a gadol, a major.
This Shabbat is called Shabbat Hagadol, the Great Sabbath. Many reasons have been given for this designation, including the fact that rabbis used to make this Shabbat especially great (or perhaps long!), because they would explain the laws of Pesach during the service.
However, the commentary Ma’ayanah Shel Torah suggests that this Sabbath received its special name because on it the Children of Israel became Bar Mitzvah, responsible for following God’s commandments.
Up to the Shabbat preceding the Exodus, God had not given the Children of Israel mitzvot to perform. The first mitzvah God gave them was to prepare the Passover lamb for sacrifice. As they performed it, they indicated their willingness and ability to answer God’s commands, thus indicating that they were Bar Mitzvah, subject to God’s Will.
The commentator Ollelot Efraim points out that in the Talmud we are taught, “The one who is commanded and performs Mitzvot is greater than the one who performs them without being commanded.” (Kiddushin 31) Why is this so? Because if you perform mitzvot only because you want to, mitzvot become a matter of personal choice. However, when you perform mitzvot because they are God’s commandments, you do so as a response to the Holy One’s Will. You perform them as an act of love. Tikun Olam, improving the world, becomes not a matter of personal choice but a religious obligation reflecting a love of God and a love of humanity.
Children also perform mitzvot before their Bar/Bat Mitzvah day, but it’s not an obligation. However, once they become a “gadol,” an adult in the eyes of Jewish tradition, they no longer have the choice. Serving God and humanity becomes their religious obligation.
All Jewish adults are Bar or Bat Mitzvah, responsible for observing the commandments, regardless of whether or not we have participated in a Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremony. We are all responsible for following the Torah and observing mitzvot. Although we live in a country which is predicated on “freedom of choice,” when it comes to Judaism and Jewish life we should limit our choices to those which God and our tradition deem appropriate.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. Your comment may be sent to leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com or posted on this website, per the instructions below.
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