Soc.Culture.Jewish Newsgroups Frequently Asked Questions and Answers URL: www.scjfaq.org/faq/21-08-02.html

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Question 21.8.2:
Other childhood lifecycle rituals: I've heard of a ceremony called "Confirmation". What is it?

In the non-Orthodox community, Confirmation is a ceremony used to mark the end of the tenth year of formal Jewish education, and usually corresponds to 10th grade graduation. It was originally introduced by Reform to replace Bar/Bat Mitzvah, but has evolved to parallel Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and provide a point of celebrating continuing Jewish education past Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Confirmation is a time for young adults to reconfirm the commitment to Judaism made at Bar/Bat Mitzvah, when they were legally adults but in this day and age not likely as mature as 12-13 years of centuries ago.

Unlike bar/bat mitzvah, confirmation is a group ceremony often celebrated on Shavuot. It is not based on traditional rituals, and is not observed in Orthodox congregations. Some Conservative congregations observe the ceremony. It is either called "confirmation", "graduation", or the more Jewish-sounding "Bikkurim". Some refer to confirmands as "Sar Torah".

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