Phenomenal Insights about Bar Mitzva and Tefillin

A Book Review

What does it mean to be a bar mitzva? How does one keep up the momentum long after they reach the age of 13? What are the obligations of a girl who becomes bat mitzva? These questions and more are thoroughly explored and answered in the newest book by Rabbi Yehoshua Alt, Phenomenal Insights about Bar Mitzva and Tefillin (2026). Rabbi Alt* gathers insights from throughout the Torah to present more than 50 engaging essays on the significance of becoming bar mitzva and tefillin. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book is suitable for Jews of all ages and makes a wonderful bar mitzva present. The insights, including the source of the bar mitzva “pshetel” (speech), can be a valuable resource for speeches by bar mitzva boys, parents, and rabbanim alike.

The book also features inspiring stories, such as that of a man approaching the age of 105 who decided to put on tefillin for the very first time, inspiring a pre-med student to begin as well. As the student put it: “If a man can begin putting on tefillin at 105, why shouldn’t I start now? Why wait until I’m 105?” We also learn what happens to the soul when a boy becomes bar mitzva. For some people, the significance of a bar mitzva might only be revealed later. Still, it is always worthwhile to prepare well before one becomes a gadol. This book allows one to do just that.

There are 613 mitzvos in the Torah. The gematria of Torah is 611, corresponding to the commandments transmitted through Moshe. The first two commandments were heard directly from Hashem Himself. This brings the total to 613. A bar mitzva celebrates a young man becoming obligated in keeping the Torah and mitzvos.

A bat mitzva is the equivalent of a bar mitzva for a girl. While a boy is obligated in all mitzvos at 13 years old, a girl is obligated in them at 12. The mitzvos that a boy is obligated in are more recognizable. Boys go to minyan; girls do not. The Ben Ish Chai said that while we (in 19^th-century Iraq) don’t make a bat mitzva seudah, there is a simcha in accepting the mitzvos. There are differences in opinion, though, as to a meal for a bat mitzva: Does it constitute a seudas mitzva? A bat mitzva today is different than it was 100 years ago. The Seridei Aish said that a bat mitzva is to encourage girls to be excited about keeping mitzvos. As outside influences permeate our community, it is important to fight back with education and get girls excited about Jewish education.

As Rabbi Alt explains, women are included in kedusha along with men in many areas; this includes kabbalas Hatorah, where Hashem instructs Moshe to say to the House of Yaakov (lebeis Yaakov), which Rashi says refers specifically to women (Shemos 19:3). Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, explains that women being exempt from tefillin is a leniency that Hashem established. Through this lens, we see that women are not lessened by halacha; rather, their pathway affirms that kedusha is expressed in a different way than for men.

The bar mitzva is a stage a boy reaches in life whether or not he gets an aliyah, has a party, or gets presents. However, celebrating with friends and family encourages one in attaining his status as a bar mitzva. Nevertheless, this status is not diminished if they don’t have a party.

If one did not have a formal bar mitzva ceremony at the age of 13, they need not make a party later, but it is certainly a nice thing to do and makes for a great mi-kamocha-Yisrael moment. While becoming bar mitzva does not automatically make us want to keep Torah and mitzvos, if someone found their way to religious observance later in life, it is never too late to mark the occasion. It certainly is cause for celebration, and it is certainly never too late to return.

The book explains that when a boy becomes bar mitzva, profound spiritual effects are set into motion. When Rabbi Elazar became bar mitzva, his father, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, described the celestial holy soul that reached Rabbi Elazar, and every boy, when he reaches the age of 13.

When a boy becomes bar mitzva he affects worlds. His actions have the power to create malachim. As the Mishna (Avos 4:13) tells us, one who fulfills a mitzva acquires an advocate (angel), while he who commits a transgression acquires against himself an accuser (angel). In other words, our actions create angelic defenders born from mitzvos and, conversely, prosecuting angels brought into being by sin.

We also know that once a boy reaches bar mitzva age, he is counted toward a minyan, something even malachim cannot do. There can be nine men in a room, but without a young man of 13 years of age, there is no minyan. Suddenly he shows up, and the Shechinah rests upon them. A minyan is formed not because of who we have become but because of who we are.

The concept of minyan is learned from a gezeirah shavah (two Torah passages linked to one another through common terms that we can learn the laws from) in Megillah 23b. There, the gemara brings us the words toch toch from the congregation of Korach (Bamidbar 16:21). How can we learn the principle of 10 Jews creating one unit for prayer from a wicked group? While Korach and his posse committed evil acts, their toch (“inside”) remained intact. They were bound to Hashem at their core.

Non-Jews are obligated in the Seven Noahide Laws from the age when they become a bar daas. If they convert at a young age, this obligation falls away, and they only become obligated in the 613 mitzvos when they become bar or bat mitzva, when they are given the choice to accept Torah and mitzvos at 13 or 12, respectively.

The question remains: How does one sustain the excitement and inspiration of becoming bar mitzva, especially when a person starts working and is out of the confines of formal learning? The answer lies in continued growth: establishing a regular learning schedule. There are also mitzvos you can do in the workforce. Give maaser. Treat employees and coworkers kindly. Know money halacha. Learn about mitzvos and the reasoning behind them. This will transform the bar or bat mitzva experience into a lifelong journey.

The Brisker Rav’s son was born at 3:00 a.m. in the morning. When he was bar mitzva, his father woke him up at 3:00 in the morning. Obviously, we hold that the day of a bar mitzva marks the time he becomes bar mitzva, but the Brisker Rav saw fit to remind his son of the significance of this at precisely the time he was born.

Phenomenal Insights about Bar Mitzva and Tefillin is an excellent resource for bar mitzva drashos. The importance of the bar mitzva drasha is highlighted by the Chasam Sofer, who wrote that the main simchas mitzva of a bar mitzva is his pshetel (bar mitzva speech). Reflecting on the bar mitzva celebration for his orphaned nephew (the son of his sister), Shmuel Katz, he remarked: “Our simcha was incomplete because the main simchas mitzva of a bar mitzva is the drasha of the bar mitzva boy[EB1] …”  

Generally, a bar mitzva speech is prepared for the boy, who may feel nervous delivering it. However, when a boy develops questions of his own and shapes them into a drasha, he forms a deeper personal connection to becoming bar mitzva, and it gives the speech greater meaning and authenticity. This book will help the bar mitzva bachur do just that.

The significance of tefillin, in particular, has been felt even under the harshest circumstances. One Holocaust survivor recalled seeing a long line in a concentration camp. Normally such lines meant food, but this line was for putting on tefillin. One person stood guard to make sure there were no Nazis coming as each person quickly said “Shema,” and passed the tefillin to the next person. Instead of waiting in line for food, these people were yearning for spiritual nourishment. In this way, the prophecy in Amos (8:11) was fulfilled: “Behold, days are coming, says Hashem, and I will send famine into the land, not a famine for bread nor a thirst for water but to hear the word of Hashem.”

Chazal teach that tefillin possess remarkable spiritual potency. The gemara in Brachos teaches that wearing tefillin brings long life. The Gemara also teaches that when a person puts tefillin on his head, he projects fear over our enemies. A bar mitzva boy possesses this power. Before the Six Day War started, the Lubavitcher Rebbe told his followers across the world to go out to the streets and offer Jewish men and boys the opportunity to don tefillin as this would serve as a means of ensuring Divine protection against the grave threats facing Eretz Yisrael from its enemies. And after the Israelis were victorious, Ariel Sharon himself put on tefillin.

When one becomes bar mitzva, he undertakes a lifelong responsibility of mitzvos for life. What does it mean to accept this role? Rabbi Alt offers profound and inspiring insights into what it means to wear tefillin daily, to take responsibility for our actions, and the power we have in conquering our evil inclination. This book is recommended for b’nei mitzva of all ages.  

This book makes a meaningful gift. Rabbi Alt related that people have already requested signed copies for bar mitzva boys, and a principal even requested this book for the bar mitzva boys in his yeshiva. With growing demand, this has become a truly meaningful gift for bar mitzva boys – make sure you get your copy today.  

You can purchase Phenomenal Insights about Bar Mitzva and Tefillin on Amazon. To request the free weekly “Fascinating Insights” parsha sheet, please send an email to yalt3285@gmail.com. Rabbi Alt can also be reached via WhatsApp at +972-54-849-5217.

* Rabbi Alt merited to learn under the tutelage of Rabbi Mordechai Friedlander, zt”l, for close to five years and received semicha from Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, zt”l. Rabbi Alt has written thousands of Torah articles on numerous topics for various websites and publications and is the author of 12 fascinating and popular books. His writings, many of which have been translated into Yiddish, Hebrew, German, Spanish, and French, inspire people across the spectrum of Jewish observance to live with the vibrancy and beauty of Torah. His shiurim can be found on various websites including Kol Halashon. Rabbi Alt lectures, writes, and teaches, and is passionate about inspiring Jews of all levels of observance.