What is a Bar Mitzvah?

What is a Bar Mitzvah?
Jewish texts from the time of the codification of the
Mishnah (circa 200 CE) convey the idea that along with
puberty comes responsibility for one's own actions. The
idea of accountability, goes back even further. The great
Samuel ha-Kaṭan writing at the close of the first
century states in a Baraita that the completion of the
thirteenth year marks the age for responsibility to the
commandments.

This concept of responsibility for personal actions and
more importantly adherence and fidelity to the covenant of
Torah was solidified in most Jewish communities as being
generally applicable to girls at age twelve and boys at
thirteen.

Over the centuries, the marking of this passage into
personal responsibility has developed significantly as a
joyous celebration, which some modern critics have stated
may overshadow the original religious significance.

In most non-Orthodox communities, both Bar and Bat Mitzvahs
(literally son or daughter of the commandment) are marked
by the individual's first time to read or chant a section
from the weekly Torah portion and its associated passage in
the Haftarah in Hebrew.

Many communities also require the individual to lead a
section of the service and present a brief commentary on
the text they have read and studied. The custom of
presenting a tallit (prayer shawl). has also become part of
the ritual for many.

In traditional communities the Bar Mitzvah is now counted
as part of the minyan (quorum) required for the public
reading of the Torah from that day forward as well as for
the recitation or repetition of certain prayers such as
Kaddish in the case of the former, and the Amidah in the
case of the latter.

In most traditional communities, the manner in which a
young woman marks her Bat Mitzvah is more limited than in
non-Orthodox communities and the young woman is not counted
as part of the minyan in accordance with Halachah. In
Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Renewal
communities, the celebration of a Bat Mitzvah equals that
of a Bar Mitzvah.

While individual responsibility traditionally begins at 12
(for girls) and 13 (for boys) years of age, the ceremony
itself may be observed at a later time. This practice has
increased in recent years as older individuals not having
celebrated their Bar or Bat Mitzvah's earlier in life
desire to mark their solidarity to the greater Jewish
community and tradition.

Jewish communities often see the Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah
as an opportunity for a Bar or Bat mitzvah to study Hebrew,
Bible, Jewish history, and a basic knowledge of Jewish
prayer and practice.

Of all the challenges associated with becoming a Bar of Bat
Mitzvah perhaps the most challenging is the task of
learning Biblical Hebrew, so an early start is of great
benefit.

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Jacob Lumbroso writes articles on history, foreign
cultures, and Judaism for http://www.judaicaquest.com/

The Secret To Psychic Mediumship

The Secret To Psychic Mediumship
Did you ever wonder how Psychic Mediums in the media
contact deceased loved ones so accurately in front of an
audience? Does it all seem like magic, smoke and mirrors?
They seem to get names, facts and figures like "water
running off a duck's back!" Did it ever occur to you that
mediumship is a skill most people can do, provided they
know the right, extremely simple to learn, mind development
exercises?

When I first started studying mediumship, it all seemed
rather mystical to me. I strained, strived and struggled
to get accurate information. I believed it was difficult
and difficult it became. My teacher's all taught versions
of meditation to gain access, but the techniques they used
did not provide a foolproof method to go deeply enough into
trance at will.

But there is a way to do it. It is called hypnosis. Yes,
simple self-hypnosis as a technique can place you deeply in
trance so that access to the world of spirit is highly
probably and quite likely. This coupled with unblocking
any issues you might have are the foundation for success in
this work.

Mediumship can be explained in a minute. You relax, ask
for access to spirit, and then receive the information
without blocking it. But like riding a bike, instructions
are not enough. Developing the skill is everything. The
most critical skill to build for successful mediumship is
learning how to effectively enter trance and unblocking any
beliefs or past life issues which might prevent an open
channel.

The way to do this effectively is using hypnosis. To enter
a simple self induced trance take the following steps. You
might want to record these steps in your own voice for easy
playback.

1. Get into a comfortable position seated or lying down
where you will not be interrupted for at least five to ten
minutes.
2. Take in a few deep breaths and relax.
3. Imagine you are in a field and off in the distance you
see a water well.
4. You walk over to it and peer down into the well.
5. There is no water in the well, but rather you realize it
is a very long tunnel with a white light at the very end of
it way off in the distance.
6. You notice a stairway curving along the inner perimeter
of the tunnel. It starts at the top of the inside of the
tunnel curving down clockwise to the white light at the
very end.
7. You feel compelled to step into the well and climb onto
the staircase.
8. As you walk down the stairs you count backwards slowly
from 10. Each number represents a station and is separated
by at least five steps. At each station you suggest to
yourself you are going deeper and deeper into the well and
into a relaxed sleep until you arrive at the white light at
zero.
9. You enter the white light.
10. This is the spiritual realm. It looks like any place
that is extremely familiar, pleasant and relaxing to you.
This is the place where contact with the world of spirit is
possible.
11. Relax and begin to ask spirit to provide you the
information you need.

Quite often the things we think are exotic really are quite
ordinary provided we have the right tools. When you think
about flying, it was an outrageous idea before the airplane
was invented. Well, what if you had the right tools to
open your mind to connect to spirit with repeatable
accuracy? This is what the correct tools to go to trance
can do for you. It makes the exotic simple, repeatable and
quite possible.

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Laura Bartolini Mendelsohn is The "Intuitive Magic" Coach,
a five star rated psychic with inherited talent and over 40
years metaphysic experience. She coaches people to
dramatically improve their "luck" by developing the magic
of their intuition. Move from wanting to winning today!
Order your FREE copy of "Intuitive Magic: The Secret To
Luck!" at http://www.intuitivemagiccoach.com/ .