When a Jewish boy reaches the age of thirteen he is considered an adult, responsible for observing all the commandments pertaining to a Jewish man. The "Bar Mitzvah" Medal commemorates and celebrates this special milestone in his life. First issued in 1961, the thirteenth year of the State of Israel, the medal features a boy reading from the Scroll of the Law, wearing his prayer shawl (tallit) and Tefillin and quotation in Hebrew and English from Mishnah Avot 5:24 (Fathers) "At 13 for the fulfillment of the Mitzvoth".