看犹太民族怎样既传统又现代地庆祝犹太孩子的成年礼，“成年”是什么意思？LIndsay现场观礼，分享感受。

A b’nai mitzvah is a Jewish coming-of-age rite of passage for twins（双胞胎）A bat mitzvah is a Jewish rite of passage for girls and a bar mitzvah is for boys. It happens when they turn thirteen years old and they are considered adults in the Jewish community.

我需要多说几句了。Mitzvah是Hebrew语，希伯来语。犹太社区里，孩子们过13岁就被看作是成人，那么这个成人的意义并非是法律意义上18岁具有独立性，而是说表达一个人的生命进入跟上帝立约关系的生活，开始承担起宗教义务，遵守诫命。刚才Lindsay说了男孩子女孩子成年礼有各自名词，Lindsay参加的是给双胞胎举行的。

The invitation was sent to my house almost 2 months ahead of the service date. The invitation card was printed in a very beautiful and formal way. To me It was quite an honor receiving such invitation. Mitzvah is a very important moment for children, only good friends can be invited to witness this ceremony. I RSVP it as soon as I can.

（图片来自网络）

RSVP 是英文世界里一个常见用法，就是收到邀请时候确认出席，原文其实是一句法文。这个典礼可不同于一般小孩子的生日party，既严肃又隆重，受邀人上可不能缺了礼数。一般朋友多送现金礼物，金额呢必须是18的倍数。主办人在典礼结束后也有回赠小礼物。

This event had two parts. The first day was a service hosted in a temple, the actual religious （宗教的）part of the ceremony. The 2nd day was a celebration party with a delicious lunch in a restaurant.

活到持续两天，穿戴需要非常正式。进教堂就要穿套装裙装，至少不过多暴露皮肤；第二天party就可以个性时髦闪亮一些的礼服了。

In service that they held in Jewish Temple，My friends read from the Torah, the Jewish sacred （神圣的）text, and gave speech. then there were also several speeches from the Rabbi. The Rabbi is the religious leader in the temple. When the twins and Rabbi read from the Torah, they spoke in Hebrew. Hebrew is the native language of Israel（以色列）, where the Jewish religion originated.

受礼人小朋友要用希伯来语诵念部分托拉，Torah，是犹太人最核心和神圣的经文，还要由此发表一篇自己的演讲，这是很不容易的。然后亲朋长者，教堂长老，都会有他们的发言。据我了解呢，所有犹太孩子都会送到教堂去学犹太教义，学希伯来语，然后13岁时候能承担起自己在宗教社区里的责任。

The service lasted almost three hours. I don’t understand Hebrew so I didn’t know what they said. But they all looked very serious and very absorbed （投入的）in what they were doing and saying. I was very touched（触动的）and it was amazing for me to see a bit of another person’s life and religion.

Lindsay小朋友是被请去观礼的。虽然听不懂，还是深为宗教场合的仪式庄重感所触动。

The next day was the party, which is always filled with people. There was fancy food, a lot of dancing, music, and games! All those typical party elements but in a very elaborate way. It was another 3 hours spent, except the time went flying by unlike the long service the other day. The party was fun but when I got back home I was very exhausted!

三个小时，上百的人盛装出席，吃吃喝喝唱歌跳舞，还有请来的专门一些组织娱乐的人员，我作为一个旁观的父母不免要掂量一下口袋，这要花多少钱。这会是一笔相当高的支出。当然了，大家送出去的礼金也相当客观。

My friends told me the cash they received will be partially saved for their college educations, and partially donated to charity funds. Some other friends also choose to provide community services to show that they are capable and responsible for their community.

从犹太孩子的成年礼看犹太人的教育，第19周 07:43 Share

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从犹太孩子的成年礼看犹太人的教育，第19周