Bar Mitzvah Wishes and Bat Mitzvah Greetings
Our bar mitzvah wishes and bat mitzvah messages were written to make your life easier.
Planning an event for the bar mitzvah (boy) or bat mitzvah (girl)? You’ve got enough to do without trying to find the perfect words of parental wisdom, support, or cheer. And if you’re invited to one of these celebrations — whether or not you’re Jewish — creating just the right message can be challenging.
Not to worry. Simply scan through our superlative selection of bar mitzvah wishes and bat mitzvah greetings. You’re sure to find something thoughtful, loving, or witty.
Memorable Bar Mitzvah Wishes and Bat Mitzvah Greetings
If you’re new to the bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah whirl, it’s a watershed event marking the passage from child to adult. To learn more, scroll down to our FAQs. But first, check out these wishes — ideal for a card, instant message, email, or voicemail.
From parents to the bar mitzvah
These are some of the best bar mitzvah wishes and greetings.
1.) We don’t expect you to understand all the emotions we’re feeling today.
But when your own child is bar mitzvahed or bat mitzvahed, it’ll all become crystal clear.
Here’s to the present and the future! Mazel tov!
2.) As you move forward into manhood, remember: we’re behind you all the way.
Mazel tov!
3.) We are lucky to have a boy like you.
4.) The world is lucky to have a man like you.
Congratulations on your bar mitzvah, and welcome to the adult world.
5.) We’ll love you even if you flub your haftarah.
(Now, please don’t flub it just to test us!)
Mazel tov!
6.) Remember, the bar mitzvah service is what really matters.
The party is just the icing on the cake.
Well, actually, the entire cake will be at the party.
Just enjoy the entire day — and mazel tov!
7.) For 13 years, we’ve given you food and shelter, toys, and entertainment.
For 13 years, you’ve given us nothing but nachas.
(Somehow, we’re gotten the better end of the deal.)
Thanks, and mazel tov!
8.) Thank you for the gift of watching you grow — it’s the gift that keeps on giving!
Congratulations on this day of days!
9.) Your bar mitzvah speech has been 13 years in the making — it’s sure to be worth the wait!
Mazel tov!
10.) The true reward of a bar mitzvah is not filling your pockets with cash but your heart with love.
Mazel tov, son!
From parents to the bar mitzvah
Here are some thoughtful bar mitzvah wishes and messages.
Seems like only yesterday you had your bris.
(Don’t worry — the Bar Mitzvah will be much less painful.)
Mazel tov!
You’ll always be Mom’s baby.
You’ll always be Dad’s boy.
But from now on, you can also be your own man.
Congratulations, Bar Mitzvah, Man.
As you become a man, heed the advice of your fellow Jew, Albert Einstein:
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”
We love you, Sonny Boy.
This Saturday, as you nervously prepare to read from the Torah, wishing you were at a Star Wars movie instead, we’ll be sitting in the first row focused on one thought: May the force be with you!
Mazel tov and love, Mom and Dad
Boys will be boys.
Men will give speeches, chant haftarahs, and make their families kvell!
Congratulations on becoming a man!
From parents to the bat mitzvah
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Golda Meir, Anne Frank… and now we know another Jewish woman who will make a difference in the world!
Mazel tov on your bat mitzvah!
Barbra Streisand, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, move over! … another talented Jewish woman is joining your ranks!
Mazel tov on your new adult status!
You don’t have to be the first female Jewish president — you’ll always be first in our hearts!
Mazel tov, bat mitzvah!
Some girls have Sweet Sixteen parties.
But when it comes to sweetness, you’re on an accelerated schedule!
Congratulations, Sweet Thirteen.
All your life, we’ve been telling you, “Hold on, take it easy, not so fast.”
Today we’re telling you, “You go, girl!”
Mazel tov!
From grandparents to the bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah
Seems like only yesterday we experienced your mom’s bat mitzvah.
Now we get to experience Deja you!
Your bar mitzvah is so much better than your dad’s.
(I don’t have to pay a penny for it.)
Congratulations to both of us!
We have faith in a world that is welcoming new adults like you into it.
Mazel tov!
You’ve grown into a wonderful young woman.
Keep the faith, and keep on growing.
Congratulations, bat mitzvah!
We didn’t know whether to say “congratulations” or “good luck,” so we’ll just cover all the bases: Mazel tov!
You are now committed to living life under Jewish law.
(Please remember this means more than enjoying kosher corned beef on rye.)
What’s the advantage of living to a ripe old age?
You get to watch your grandson become a man!
Mazel Tov to all of us!
Judaism is a religion and a culture.
On your bat mitzvah, we wish you the best of both.
Mazel tov!
From friends or siblings to the bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah
Don’t think of your bat mitzvah service as a big, agonizing ordeal.
Think of it as the lead-in to the party.
Mazel tov!
No more childish video games for you.
From now on, only realistic, adult video games.
Congratulations on becoming a man!
All the major media will cover your bat mitzvah: TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
A word of advice on your bar mitzvah: watch out for pickpockets!
What to write in a bar mitzvah card
You’ve reached a new stage in life — the center stage at the synagogue. Break a leg!
I’m a little disappointed your bar mitzvah isn’t being held in a sauna. I’ve never been to a bar shvitzvah! (Don’t worry, I’ll still be there.)
I know you’ll do well at your bar mitzvah — you learned from the master when I had mine!
Someday you may be the Best Man at my wedding!
But today, you’re the Best Man, period!
Congratulations, buddy!
Why should you be nervous at your bar/bat mitzvah?
All the people you love in your life are going to be there.
Uh, okay, I guess I just answered my question.
To the parents from friends or relatives
Maybe it’s not until the day your child is bat mitzvahed that the child’s parents truly become adults.
Mazel tov!
Women like (NAME OF BAT MITZVAH) don’t grow on trees.
They grow in good homes like yours.
Best wishes on this big day!
From birth to marriage, it’s a challenging journey. Thank God for a bar mitzvah along the way to help keep life on track.
Mazel tov and enjoy!
The day of a bat mitzvah is a time when a child turns into an adult — and the parents turn into nervous 13-year-olds! (But I think you’ll all make it through just fine!)
Mazel tov!
Bar Mitzvah Card Ideas
A child spends a few months preparing for a bar mitzvah.
Parents spend 13 years.
Congratulations on a job well done!
Even expensive bat mitzvahs are wise investments — they yield priceless memories as long as you live.
Mazel tov!
The most important person in preparing a bat mitzvah is not the rabbi, the cantor, or the Hebrew school teacher. It’s the parent. Lucky (NAME OF BAT MITZVAH) — her parent is you!
Wishing you all the best on this great day!
See Yom Kippur Greetings.
FAQs about bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah
Here are some frequently asked questions about bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs.
What are a bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah?
The term can refer either to the ceremony itself or to the boy/girl undergoing the ceremony. The literal translation is “son/daughter of the commandment,” meaning the child has reached the age of being subject to the laws and practices of Judaism.
Where and when did the ceremonies originate?
Over centuries, bar mitzvahs slowly evolved into the festivities celebrated in America today. The Bible mentions 13 as the “age of accountability,” and by the 12th century, rabbinic writings declared 13 as the age for boys — and 12 for girls — that makes them subject to the commandments of Judaism.
By the 14th century, Jewish boys in France were called to read from the Torah in synagogue ceremonies. 1922 saw the first bat mitzvah celebration.
The bar/bat mitzvah party — usually occurring on a Saturday night following the ceremony — also evolved from primarily religious affairs and discourse to today’s elaborate “happenings,” which may include entertainment furnished by musicians, fortune-tellers, or disc jockeys!
What to expect at a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah video
How old is the bar mitzvah recipient?
Traditionally, the ceremony takes place on the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday morning or Friday after sunset). Boys are bar mitzvahed on the Sabbath of (or immediately following) their 13th birthdays.
The same holds true for bat mitzvahs, except in the case of Orthodox Jewish girls, whose coming-of-age ceremony occurs at age 12.
What types of gifts can the bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah expect?
In the first half of the 20th century, the most popular gift was the fountain pen — so popular, in fact, that a joke of the time had the bar mitzvah boy’s speech starting out with “Today I am a fountain pen” (Instead of “Today I am a man.”)
As the Jewish population became more affluent, the most popular gift became cash — in the form of a check tucked into a greeting card. (Those checks can help defray the cost of the party.)
Religious Jews can choose from a wide array of items, from Star of David necklaces to books of Jewish fiction or non-fiction. Charitable gifts are also popular, including certificates announcing the planting of trees in Israel in honor of the bar/bat mitzvah.
What happens at a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah?
Sometimes readings are read from the Torah. Sometimes, they chant a haftarah (an excerpt from Prophets in the Old Testament). Speeches run the gamut from religious to secular, serious to humorous. If the synagogue has too many children with the same birthdays around the same time, two may have to share the stage.
So, do bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs follow a set format? No.
Another type of “double’ bar mitzvah celebrates the man of 26 — double the usual age — who somehow missed out on his coming-of-age event at 13. Older, even older adults, sometimes become bar mitzvahed because they want to have the experience and bond with their religion before they die.
Trans individuals have begun having “B-mitzvahs,” sometimes known as “both mitzvahs.” On a lighter note, dog owners have actually started holding “bark mitzvahs” for canines that reach the old age of 13. This new twist began in — where else? — Los Angeles.
Final Thoughts
Now you’ve studied for your bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah, you’ll know the right thing to say to the child — or the parents — undergoing the experience. And if you’re invited to the celebration, you don’t have to be Jewish.
You can now attend with a basic appreciation for the event’s meaning and history. So, to everyone who has read this far, we have just one thing left to say: mazel tov!
By Art Novak
Art Novak is an Emmy-winning writer, novelist, and Professor Emeritus at Savannah College of Art and Design.
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