Question:
Answer:
No, they are not connected or related.
A bar mitzvah means that a young man has become a “son of the commandment.” For a girl, it is called a bat mitzvah and means “daughter of the commandment.” These terms mean that a child has reached the age when he or she is expected to keep all of the commandments and also enjoys full rights within the Jewish religious community.
While a ceremony is usually held to celebrate this moment, it is the age of the child that determines whether he or she is obligated to keep the commandments, not the ceremony itself. The ceremony imparts nothing upon the child but rather is a symbolic celebration of this moment in the child’s life.
Confirmation, on the other hand, is the sacrament in which we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is not merely symbolic.
This sacrament can be validly received at any time in someone’s life. Eastern Catholic Churches celebrate the sacrament of confirmation at the same time as baptism for infants. In the Latin Church, the reception of the sacrament is normally given later in life; however, this delay is not connected to any notion that once the sacrament has been received that the individual is now an adult or that his or her obligations have changed due to the reception of the sacrament.