This excerpt from A Time for Every Purpose Under Heaven by Renewal Rabbi Arthur O. Waskow provides a survey of the modern historical development of the Bat Mitzvah celebration. He shows how the custom has evolved in American Jewish communities across the religious spectrum since the first American Bat Mitzvah in 1922. Shared on MyJewishLearning.com, the article ends with links to four personal articles in which Modern Orthodox mothers describe how they were able to transform that their daughter’s Bat Mitzvahs into empowering personal and communal celebrations.