Becoming a Bar (for a boy) or Bat (for a daughter) Mitzvah is one of the most significant and popular Jewish lifecycle events.  Literally Bar/Bat Mitzvah means, "son or daughter of the commandments."  The origin of this celebration at the age of thirteen is a teaching in the section of the Rabbinic text from the 3rd century - the Mishnah.  In the tractate Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers 5:21) we learn that at the age of thirteen, young men and women become responsible for discovering the role of mitzvot (plural of mitzvah) in their lives.

The idea of "mitzvah" is a complicated one.  While many translate it as "good deed," it is more accurately translated as "commandment."  But even this misses the depth of the word.  Perhaps "mitzvah" is best understood as an "act of commandment and connection."  It is through mitzvot that Jews make meaningful connections to God, the world and other human beings.  As young men and women become Bar/Bat Mitzvah we celebrate another opportunity to bring God into the world through the performance of mitzvot.