Bat Mitzvah – Coming-of-age ceremony for girls aged 12. It literally means "Daughter of the Commandment"

(Pronounced bat-mitz-vah)

A bat wearing mittens flew out of the van (Bat Mitzvah) and into the synagogue where a girl's coming of age ceremony was taking place.

Bat Mitzvah is basically Bar Mitzvah for girls.

It follows a similar pattern to the Bar Mitzvah and happens around a girl’s 12th birthday.

During the ceremony, the girl may read from the Torah (Jewish scripture which contains the commandments) or read a prayer from the Siddur – the daily prayer book used by Jews.

In Judaism, males and females are traditionally not thought to have the same responsibilities. This means that, in some Jewish communities, several rules (such as the requirement to read from the Torah) are less strict for girls than they are for boys.

NOTE: The Bat Mitzvah is only practised by Reform and Liberal Jewish communities. Orthodox Jews have a ceremony for girls called Bat Chayil (which means 'daughter of valour'), during which the girl will speak about a topic relating to Judaism, but will not lead prayers or read from the Torah.