As stated earlier, Polydox Jews have the freedom to celebrate whichever ceremonies they find meaningful. Accordingly, Polydox Jews may celebrate the Bar and Bat Mitzvah if they choose to do so, and many do. Comment: The point should be made that the meaning of a Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremony in Polydox Judaism cannot be the same as that in Orthodox Judaism. The reason is that the Bar and Bat Mitzvah in Orthodox Judaism require a system of divinely revealed commandments (mitzvot) or Law that is obligatory upon the Orthodox Jew. Indeed, the Bar and Bat Mitzvah in Orthodox Judaism signifies that the person has left behind the period of childhood, when the divine commandments are not in full force, and attained her or his majority when the commandments or Law are fully obligatory Hence the term Bar or Bat Mitzvah means “someone who is obligated to observe the commandments.” Such a system of commandments or Law does not exist in Polydox Judaism. The meaning of Bar and Bat Mitzvah among Polydox Jews varies widely in accordance with individual views. Two views presently current in Polydox Judaism indicate just how wide this variance is. One is that the Bar or Bat Mitzvah is merely a symbolic ceremony marking the increased maturity and obligations of adolescence as compared to childhood. Another is that the Bar or Bat Mitzvah is a time when the person, having attained the increased maturity of adolescence, is called upon to commit herself or himself to whatever commandments she or he believes have come from a deity. An alternative ceremony in Polydox Judaism is the Baalat/Baal Mitzvah ceremony.
A Religious Structure