bar-mitsvah

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A youth of an age to obey the commandments: applied to a Jewish boy on his thirteenth birthday, when, according to rabbinical law, he has reached the age of responsibility. Before this the father is responsible for his son's actions. The occasion is solemnized in the synagogue on the following Saturday, and is followed by a festive gathering.
2. n. The celebration of a Jewish boy's thirteenth birthday.