Her name was Judith Kaplan, and she was the world's first Bat Mitzvah. This event took place in Manhattan in what year?- within 10

On March 18, 1922, a significant event in modern Jewish history occurred when twelve-year-old Judith Kaplan stepped up to read from the Torah at her father's synagogue in New York City. This marked the first Bat Mitzvah ceremony in America, establishing a new tradition for Jewish girls to publicly mark their coming of age and their commitment to the Jewish faith, a rite that had historically been reserved for boys.

The ceremony was the innovation of her father, Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. He believed that girls should be given the same opportunities for religious education and participation as boys. While this first ceremony was not identical to a boy's Bar Mitzvah at the time—Judith read from a printed text rather than a Torah scroll—it was a revolutionary step. It challenged the traditional gender roles within the synagogue and paved the way for greater female involvement in Jewish ritual and community life.

The concept of a Bat Mitzvah was slow to gain widespread acceptance. However, Kaplan's pioneering act for his daughter ignited a gradual shift within Conservative and Reform Judaism. Over the following decades, the ceremony became increasingly common, evolving into the familiar and cherished rite of passage it is for many Jewish girls today. Judith Kaplan herself went on to become a respected Jewish musicologist and educator, and even celebrated a second Bat Mitzvah at the age of 82.