WEBVTT

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Here's a question for you:

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at what age do you think
you become an adult?

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I think at the age of 18.

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16.

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18.

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Different people think
different things.

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Yes! At 21 you can become
a member of Parliament.

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Hello?

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At 17, you can drive.

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You can drink alcohol when you're 18.

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Oi!

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For Jewish people,
the answer is simple,

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when Jewish boys are 13, 
and Jewish girls are 12,

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we have to take responsibility
for everything we do.

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So as far as our religion
is concerned, we are adults,

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and we have a special
ceremony known as

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a Bar Mitzvah, for boys,

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and a Bat Mitzvah, for girls.

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My name's Emily and I am 12.

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I had my Bat Mitzvah last month.

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This means, I am now, according
to Jewish tradition,

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an adult.

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Girls have their Bat Mitzvah
one year earlier than boys,

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as it is believed

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that girls mature
slightly faster than boys.

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'Bar' means 'son' and 'Mitzvah'
means 'commandment' or 'rule',

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so 'Bar Mitzvah' means
'Son of the Commandment',

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which basically means a son
who must obey God's rules.

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'Bat Mitzvah' means 'Daughter
of the Commandment'.

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We believe that before
I became Bat Mitzvah'ed,

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God would hold Mum and Dad
responsible for anything I did,

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but now I'm old enough to take
that responsibility for myself.

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Bye Mum!

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This is my synagogue

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where my Bat Mitzvah took place.

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My preparation began by learning

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a piece of Hebrew called
the Eishet Chayil.

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For boys however, they
have to learn from this...

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This is the Torah.

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It's precious to the Jews,

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as the New Testament is to Christians,
and the Qur'an to Muslims.

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During all Bar Mitzvahs,

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the boy will be expected
to read from the Torah.

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The difficult thing is that we
both have to read in Hebrew,

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which is the traditional
Jewish language.

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I had to practise for weeks,

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but with the help of my Rabbi,

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who is the leader and
teacher at the synagogue,

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I got there in the end.

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What's the importance of the reading?

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The Bat Mitzvah girl will prepare
reading the Eishet Chayil,

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a poem from the Bible,

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which explains the
importance of a Jewish woman

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and what her ability can be

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and what the Bat Mitzvah
girl should strive to be.

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The Bar Mitzvah boy will
read a Torah portion.

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The first Torah portion
which he can read,

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now that he is part
of the congregation.

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This is what I wore at my Bat Mitzvah,

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but boys have to wear
Tallit and Kippah.

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Hi Ben, how was your Bar Mitzvah?

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I was a bit nervous

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because there were a lot of people
here, my family and my friends,

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and I was also very excited
to have my big day.

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I stood on the bimah.

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I had to read from the
Torah with the yad.

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I had to use the yad, because
to go through the Hebrew reading

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took me a year to prepare it.

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At the end of my Bat Mitzvah
everyone threw sweets at me.

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Me too.

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It is on a Bar Mitzvah boy's day,

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or on a Bat Mitzvah girl's day,

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that we want them to be showered

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with as many blessings as possible,

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so to symbolise this,
we throw sweets at them.

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And now it's party time,
when everyone comes together

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to sing, dance and celebrate
becoming an adult.

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Who's had their Bat Mitzvah?

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I have!

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Did you enjoy it?

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I really enjoyed mine because I
had mine together with my brother,

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'cos we're a year apart.

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I don't feel that much different,

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but my parents definitely
give me more freedom now,

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and they treat me a bit
more like an adult, I think.

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I was given a bit more
respect and trust as well

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to look after my sisters

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and go out with my
friends and everything,

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so that was good.

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For Jewish people,

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the Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah

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are important events in
a young person's life

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and a celebration that
we will always remember.

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This is because the
Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah

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are about becoming a young adult,

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taking responsibility for themselves,

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maturing and continuing life's journey,

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and although the ceremony
is about becoming an adult,

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we can still behave like
children sometimes afterwards,

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if we really want to.