JEWISH EQUAL TIME: It was 70 years...

JEWISH EQUAL TIME: It was 70 years ago today that young Judith Kaplan of New York was the first girl to celebrate a Bat Mitzvah. Until then, only boys took part in the traditional Jewish ritual at age 13, marking passage into adulthood. . . . University Synagogue in Irvine will take part in a national celebration tonight heralding the event which helped showcase equality of women in Jewish life. . . . “People forget how new it is,” said Shannon McGrady Bane, cantor at University Synagogue.