Bar Mitzvah, a History

3. The Spread and Regulation of Bar Mitzvah

54 Chapter Three The Spread and Regulation of Bar Mitzvah • At Krakow in 1595 and Berlin in 1730 the maximum number of bar mitzvah guests was limited to ten men. • At Frankfurt in 1715 the boy was not allowed to wear a wig or give out honey cake to the guests. • At Prague in 1767 no music was allowed at the party. • In Ancona in 1793 only coffee and biscuits could be served at the party. • At Hamburg-Altona in 1712 parties in synagogue were banned because of boys’ misbehavior. • At Metz in 1769 a requirement for a minimum of two years’ Jewish education was laid down in an attempt to stop boys from stealing or running wild in the streets. • Benjamin Disraeli, the British prime minister, never had a bar mitzvah. The Spread of the Celebration In spite of Maharshal’s doubts about the celebration, within a single generation there is clear evidence that bar mitzvah had become an established custom. This was important because during the seventeenth century Poland had developed into the largest and most important Jewish community in the world. The system of self-government enabled a flourishing cultural life, and the appointment of rabbis and synagogue officials laid the foundation for the well-organized Jewish communities that have existed ever since. The Spread of Rules The community records of this time have a totally different tone from the rabbinic rulings of earlier years. The gradual spread of the celebration across Europe was accompanied by controversy and tension between those who thought of it as a purely religious celebration and those who promoted its social aspects. Indeed, the subsequent history suggests that the spread and regulation of bar mitzvah 55 Maharshal’s doubts about holding a party were justified. As soon as the party became a common practice, bar mitzvah ceased to be the preserve of the pious. In spite of the obvious joy and pride in the occasion that shines through the sources, the legislative record and surviving anecdotes describe problem after problem—extravagant banquets, inappropriate dress, and boys with an insufficient knowledge of Hebrew. As bar mitzvah spread across the community, large parties sometimes overshadowed the religious reason for the celebration. A paradox began to emerge. The new institution of the derashah, the boy’s speech apparently invented by Maharshal, enabled the bar mitzvah to show off his educational achievements . But the manner of celebrating those achievements became dependent on the wealth and influence of the family, not the intelligence and speaking skill of the boy. The oldest Jewish community rule book from Poland is written in a mixture of Yiddish and Hebrew and comes from Krakow, 140 miles from Maharshal’s principal city of residence, Lublin. Most of the rules come from 1595.1 Here bar mitzvah takes its place alongside other life cycle events marked in the synagogue on Shabbat. On these occasions a set payment had to be made by the family to the cantor officiating at the service, plus an additional 25 percent to charity. The takkanot (community rules) seek to regulate the customs of the time, which required the sending of presents , often of food, by the host of the party to neighbors and community leaders. In order to prevent extravagance, taxes were payable to the synagogue for permission to send the gifts, the tax increasing according to the size of the gift.2 The first of these regulations that mentions bar mitzvah is a list of priorities for being called to the Torah in the synagogue: “bar mitzvah, birth, circumcision, anniversary of a death, or a groom on the first Shabbat after his arrival, or when he comes here, or on the Shabbat of a pre-wedding celebration a call up (aufruf), and he gives a quarter of one złoty to the above mentioned charity.”3 Bar mitzvah, although an innovation, is listed first, suggesting that the boy even had priority over a bridegroom. Donations to charity were the norm for those being called to the Torah in the synagogue, and the bar mitzvah was no exception. The rule book goes on to discuss the party. Invitations for a bar mitzvah were to be sent on the Thursday, two days before the event, “so he can accept fish.” Fish such as carp would have been available in the markets on a Thursday because the local Catholic population ate it on Fridays. 56 the spread and...