A Jewish coming-of-age ceremony that is celebrated when a boy reaches 13 years of age. The ceremony involves reading a portion of the Torah; afterwards, a boy is viewed as an adult in the eyes of a law. Josef celebrates his bar mitzvah a week into his journey on the St. Louis, and views it as his own personal passage into adulthood.
Bar mitzvah Quotes in Refugee
The Refugee quotes below are all either spoken by Bar mitzvah or refer to Bar mitzvah. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 8 days
Quotes
It all came flooding back to him now—swaying and humming along with the prayers, craning his neck to see the Torah when it was taken out of the ark and hoping to get a chance to touch it and then kiss his fingers as the scroll came around in a procession. Josef felt his skin tingle. The Nazis had taken all this from them, from him, and now he and the passengers on the ship were taking it back.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Refugee LitChart as a printable PDF.
Bar mitzvah Term Timeline in Refugee
The timeline below shows where the term Bar mitzvah appears in Refugee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Josef: Somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 6 days from home
...age. Ruthie tells them that Josef just turned 13, and is going to have his bar mitzvah soon. Renata tells them that they are traveling alone—their mother had to stay back in...
(full context)
Josef: Somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 8 days from home
The day of Josef’s bar mitzvah arrives—the day Josef will “leave his childhood behind and become a man, and he could...
(full context)
Josef is upset that Aaron will not join for his bar mitzvah , but wonders if becoming a man means not relying on one’s father. At the...
(full context)
Josef: Somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 10 days from home
...member Josef noticed storming off as the portrait of Hitler was taken down for Joseph’s bar mitzvah , grows angry that passengers are being shown downstairs. Schiendick calls the children “Jewish rats”...
(full context)
