Dose of Halacha

Question: I was once at a shul where someone said baruch sheptarani for his daughter’s bas mitzva . Should I say it for my daughter’s bas mitzva ? Answer: The Rema (OC 225:2) writes that when one’s son becomes bar mitzva , his father recites baruch sheptarani meonsho shel zeh, ( Blessed is He who exempted me from this one’s punishment ). The Magen Avraham (OC 225:5) and Mishna Berura (225:7) explain that as the father is obligated to educate his son, he is responsible for his son’s misdeeds, too. The son is responsible for himself upon turning bar mitzva . Thus, his father recites this beracha upon being released from this obligation. As the obligation to educate one’s sons in learning Torah does not apply equally to girls (Nazir 29a), the Pri Megadim ( Eishel Avraham 225:5) writes that this is one of the reasons why parents don’t say baruch sheptarani on their daughter’s bas mitzva. The Kaf Hachaim (OC 225:15) adds that as girls typically stay at home and are sup...

Question: Should girls celebrate their  bas mitzva  with a seuda ? Answer: The Magen Avraham (OC 225:4) writes that parents are obligated to make a seuda for their son on the day of his  bar mitzva  just as one does when he marries. R’ Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe OC 1:104) wrote that while one can celebrate one’s  bas mitzva  at home, it is no different to any other birthday party. He continues that if it were up to him, he would even put a stop to  bar mitzva  celebrations, especially as they often have little religious content and can cause chillul Shabbos. Elsewhere, (Igros Moshe OC 2:97) he questions why there is a difference at all between celebrating a boy’s  bar mitzva  and a girl’s  bas mitzva . He later wrote (Igros Moshe OC 4:36) that it is appropriate to make a kiddush in shul to mark this milestone. R’ Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (Seridei Aish 3:93), however, argues that while people didn’t celebrate bas mit...