How the bat mitzvah broke barriers for Jewish women
ABC News
The first bat mitzvah was celebrated 100 years ago by a Jewish girl, Judy Kaplan, and has broken barriers for Jewish women and leadership.
In the first official ceremony of its kind, on March 18, 1922, a young girl named Judy Kaplan took on the obligations and responsibilities of Jewish adulthood in a ceremony that had long been held for boys exclusively.
Friday marks the 100-year anniversary since the first bat mitzvah ceremony known was celebrated. Little did Kaplan know she would break a glass ceiling for women of the Jewish faith for years to come.
"It was a tremendous moment in Judaism where we started to say, 'girls' coming-of-age matters too and young women can and should be reading from the Torah," said Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg from the National Council of Jewish Women.
"We need to take [women] seriously. They're not side players in the 'male' story. And certainly 100 years ago, that was downright radical," Ruttenberg added.
