Ethics - Rites of Passage Revision

Coming of Age RitesWhat is a bar mitzvah and a bat mitzvah?They are both special ceremonies where Jewish boys (aged 13) and girls (aged 12) can become adults in the eyes of the Jewish religion.Bar mitzvah is for boys and means Son of the Commandment.Bat mitzvah is for girls and means Daughter of the Commandment.

Death RitesThe ways in which religious people deal with death and the funeral rites they carry out are usually very closely linked with their beliefs about life after death.Funeral ritesFuneral rites are very important for two reasons:

They show respect for the dead and, in some religions, include various ceremonies which people believe are necessary to ensure that people go on to whatever their next life will be.

Perhaps more importantly, they give the relatives and friends of the deceased time to mourn and show their grief in a certain way. People often say that showing their grief formally helps them to get over their loss.

GTC Yr8 Revision 11th Dec 2014

Keywords and Spellings

GTC Yr8 Revision 11th Dec 2014

baptisma ceremony to admit a person into the Christian Church using water

Bar Mitzvaha religious ceremony for Jewish boys who have reached the age of 13

burial burying a dead body

celebration to hold a party or other event on a special occasion

ceremony an important event such as a wedding or funeral

christening a ceremony to baptise a child in a Christian Church

festival a time when people celebrate a special event

funerala ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated

Judaism the religion of Jewish people

marriage two people form a legal partnership

relationship the way people or things are related with each other

rite a ceremony or ritual