It is not a verb, as in The rabbi bar mitzvahed me last year. It is not a past participle, as in I was bat mitzvahed in that synagogue. It is not something you have, as in I am having my bar mitzvah next week. Bar or bat mitzvah literally translates as son or daughter of the commandment or, even better as someone who is old enough to be responsible for the mitzvot. Becoming bar and bat mitzvah is a rite of passage.
Every culture has rites of passage.
In American culture, driver s education and passing the road test are rites of passage. Voting for the first time is a rite of passage. In fact, I felt something very powerful inside when I entered the voting booth for the first time. I felt like a mature participant in American democracy. In certain traditional African societies, a youth must kill a lion or wrestle with his father in order to prove his strength.