Israel - Bar Mitzvah, state medal, 1978 - silver 935, 47g, 45mm When a Jewish boy reached the age of ...

Israel - Bar Mitzvah, state medal, 1978 - silver 935, 47g, 45mm When a Jewish boy reached the age of thirteen, he was considered "big". A common custom is to celebrate this event in public and end the religious ceremony with a nice feast in honor of the boy. With the establishment of the state, the idea of sending the Bar Mitzvah to celebrate its holiday in Israel began to capture the hearts of many Jews abroad, and some even organize groups of boys and come to Jerusalem with their parents to perform the ceremony there. Since the unification of Jerusalem, the practice of holding the Bar Mitzvah ceremony near the Western Wall has expanded. The first "Bar Mitzvah" medal was issued in honor of the thirteenth anniversary of the State of Israel, in 1961. Upon completion of its issuance, a new medal was issued in 1978 based on the design of the first medal with changes. The face of the medal: the figure of a boy putting on a tefillin, and the verse "Thirteen-year-old for the mitzvot" (Avot 5, 24) in Hebrew and English. The back of the medal: the state emblem, and the twelve tribal emblems.