MISHNA: With regard to a girl who is eleven years and one day old, her vows are examined. Once she is twelve years and one day old her vows are in effect. And one examines her vows throughout the entire twelfth year until her twelfth birthday.
What do you think it means to 'examine' a woman's vows?
Why might a woman's vows need to be examined before she turns twelve?
What's special about the age of 12 for a woman?
Why do you think the Mishnah uses the example of vows to talk about the age of maturity?
With regard to a boy who is twelve years and one day old, his vows are examined. Once he is thirteen years and one day old his vows are in effect. And one examines his vows throughout the entire thirteenth year until his thirteenth birthday.
What new information are we learning from this part of the mishnah?
Prior to that time, eleven years and one day for a girl and twelve years and one day for a boy, even if they said: We know in Whose name we vowed and in Whose name we consecrated, their vow is not a valid vow and their consecration is not a valid consecration. After that time, twelve years and one day for a girl and thirteen years and one day for a boy, even if they said: We do not know in Whose name we vowed and in Whose name we consecrated, their vow is a valid vow and their consecration is a valid consecration.
What might be the implications of this part of the mishnah? What does it reveal about what it means to be an adult in Judaism? What are your thoughts about this implication?