Selected text
Nowadays, I could see it, especially because I’ve traveled to Israel many times, the bar mitzvah has become as important as a hatuna [wedding ceremony]. They make such a fuss about it. In my time it was almost nothing, formerly everything went strictly according to the rituals. I remember we used to go to the synagogue, and I had to read a part of the Torah which I had to learn in advance; the chazzan taught me and that was all. There wasn’t any celebration at home. This happened in 1942.This used to take place when the boys turned 13, because according to the Jewish laws, a Jew became an adult after he turned 13, not 18.The Jewish boys were taken to the synagogue for pre-prayer only after they turned 13, to be part of the minyan.I had my own tefillin, my father taught me to tie it, because I had to wear it every time I went to the synagogue after my bar mitzvah.
Location
Romania
Interview
Jozsef Farkas