Skip to content
Log inCreate my invitation
Culture

Bar and bat mitzvah: the Hebrew birth date and the parashah

The Hebrew birthday sets the date; the parashah is the Shabbat reading that follows. Three computed examples, and the Israel versus diaspora trap.

By The Tov team · · 6 min read · Updated on
On this page
  1. The date: the Hebrew birthday
  2. The parashah: the Shabbat of the Torah reading
  3. The trap: the parashah depends on the place
  4. On the invitation

A bar mitzvah is not dated on the civil calendar: it follows the Hebrew birthday. That same date determines the parashah, the Torah portion read that Shabbat, which families often put on the invitation.

The date: the Hebrew birthday

A person becomes obligated in the commandments at 13 for a boy (Pirkei Avot 5:21) and at 12 for a girl (Mishnah Niddah 5:6: “twelve years and a day”). These years are counted on the Hebrew calendar, so you need the Hebrew birth date, then the same date thirteen (or twelve) Hebrew years later. That date does not move; the celebration can, and many families hold it on another day, often a Shabbat.

  • A boy born on Thursday, June 12, 2014 = 14 Sivan 5774 (י״ד בסיוון תשע״ד). Bar mitzvah: 14 Sivan 5787 (י״ד בסיוון תשפ״ז), which is Saturday, June 19, 2027.
  • A boy born on Sunday, February 15, 2015 in daytime = 26 Shevat 5775 (כ״ו בשבט תשע״ה). Bar mitzvah: 26 Shevat 5788, which is Wednesday, February 23, 2028.
  • Same birth, but after nightfall: it is already 27 Shevat 5775 (כ״ז בשבט תשע״ה). Bar mitzvah: Thursday, February 24, 2028. The hour of birth changes the day.
  • A girl born on Wednesday, November 9, 2016 = 8 Cheshvan 5777 (ח׳ בחשוון תשע״ז). Bat mitzvah at 12: 8 Cheshvan 5789 (ח׳ בחשוון תשפ״ט), which is Saturday, October 28, 2028.
Culture

Cases to confirm with your rabbi: a birth between sunset and nightfall, a birth in Adar (especially with an Adar I and an Adar II), a birth on 30 Cheshvan or 30 Kislev. Customs differ: Tov computes the date and does not rule on these cases.

The parashah: the Shabbat of the Torah reading

By custom, a bar mitzvah’s parashah is that of the Shabbat that falls on the Hebrew birthday or right after it (Saturday, February 26, 2028 for the two February 2015 births). That is the most common custom; some families read the Shabbat before. Decide it with your synagogue’s rabbi.

  • Saturday, February 26, 2028: parashah Mishpatim, with the special reading of Shabbat Shekalim.
  • Saturday, October 28, 2028: parashah Lech-Lecha.
  • Saturday, June 19, 2027: Nasso outside Israel, but Beha’alotcha in Israel.

The trap: the parashah depends on the place

Outside Israel, Shavuot lasts two days; in 2027 the second day falls on Saturday, June 12, and the festival Torah reading is read. In Israel, Shavuot is over on Friday, and parashah Nasso is read on June 12. The two calendars meet again later. On June 19, 2027, communities outside Israel read Nasso and Israel reads Beha’alotcha: a bar mitzvah in Tel Aviv and the same one in New York do not share a parashah. The same offset occurs around Passover and Sukkot in some years.

Other cases: a Shabbat that falls during Yom Tov or Chol HaMoed has its own reading (there is no “regular” parashah), and some Shabbatot carry an extra special reading (Shekalim, Zachor, Parah, HaChodesh, Chazon, Hanukkah).

On the same topic

On the invitation

Give the civil date, the Hebrew date (see our article on how to write it) and the parashah for the place of the celebration. Tov computes the Hebrew date and can show the parashah from the date; the verse is yours to choose. Free during the beta, in English, French, Hebrew and Spanish.

Last checked

Sources consulted

About — Written by the Tov.events team, who build the tools Jewish families — Sephardic, Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, secular — use for their simchas.

What’s next?

One invitation per household, sent on WhatsApp.

In 4 languages, with the Hebrew date and the replies followed live.

Create my invitationAll about bar mitzvah invitations

Related reading