bas mitzvah
• noun
The religious initiation ceremony and celebratory milestone for a Jewish girl who has reached the age of twelve or thirteen, marking her entrance into religious adulthood (an Ashkenazi variant of bat mitzvah).
"The entire extended family gathered at the synagogue to celebrate Rachel's bas mitzvah."
A Jewish girl who has reached the age of twelve or thirteen and is therefore considered legally and morally responsible for observing religious commandments under Jewish law.
"Once she became a bas mitzvah, she took great pride in participating fully in her community's religious traditions."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Bas mitzvah" reflects the traditional Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, whereas "bat mitzvah" reflects the Sephardi and Modern Israeli Hebrew pronunciation and is more widely used in contemporary English.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.