Baruch Sheptarani

Levush, Orach Hayim 225

[16th century]

There are those who say that one who makes a bar mitzvah for his son blesses "blessed are you lord our god who has released me from this punishment", however this isn't clear. If they hold onto the actions of their father, they aren't exempt for several generations as it says (Devarim 5:9), "visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, [upon the third and upon the fourth generations]".

Mordechai HaKohen (The Shach) on Parshat Lech-Lecha

After 13 years the son should bless: 'blessed is he who has freed me from the punishment of my father'

Eliya Zuta 225:3

[Elijah Spira, 17th-18th centuries]

The explanation of his [the Levush's] opinion is that it is not that the father is exempt from punishment for the actions of the son. When the son was small he was not punishable. Rather the father is blessing that the son is now exempt from the sins of the father.

Lehem Hamudot [Divrei Hamudot] writes that the intention of the blessing is that until now the father was obligated to educate his son and if he neglects any of this he is punished. I also found this in the midrash of parshat Toldot....

Pri Megadim, Orach Hayim 225:5

[18th century]

Why do we not bless for a girl who reaches the age of majority? According to the explanation of the Levush that young sons are punished due to the actions of their father there is no difference between male and female. For the one who says the blessing is because of education, we can say that there is no obligation to educate daughters. See Magen Avraham 343:1. Even for the ones who says there is an obligation [to educate daughters], there isn't as much of a mitzvah to educate daughters, and if he marries her off to a man when she is a minor she is not punished due to her father

Teshuvot Halachot Ketanot 1:222

[Rabbi Jacob Chagiz, 17th century, Morocco, Italy, Jerusalem]

However, I need to say that we also bless when a daughter grows up because sons and daughters can both die when they are young due to the sins of the father (Shabbat 32b). As for the first reason, that the father has not taught her, because the daughter grows up with her mother the obligation doesn't descend upon him. In any case it is difficult for the mother to bless.

Hidushei Radal

[Rabbi David Luria, 19th century]

It follows that [the midrash] means literally a son and not a daughter. Because of this the reason isn't because until now the father was punished due to the sins of the child as the achronim though. If that was the case, [we would bless for] a daughter too. Rather, the core intention is the obligation to teach Torah to your son.

Aseh Lecha Rav 1:31

[Hayim David HaLevi, 20th cent, Chief Rabbi of Tel-Aviv]

To your second question, why do we not bless "who has freed me from this punishment" for a daughter that reaches the age of bat-mitzvah, take note of the midrash....

It implies a son specifically, but a daughter we don't need to bless when she reaches the age of mitzvot. According to that, the reason isn't because until now the father was punished for the sins of the child, as the achronim write, because if so we would [bless for] a daughter too. Rather, the core of the intention is that the obligation to teach Torah to a son until this age is incumbent on the father to be concerned that his son learns Torah. From here onward the obligations falls on the son himself, and if he doesn't learn Torah, the father is not punished. All this is not applicable to a daughter who does not learn Torah.

Yabia Omer, Orach Haim, 6:29

[Ovadia Yosef, 20th century]

Presumably there is a difference between the explanation of the Magen Avraham and the explanation of the Levush when it comes to the issue of a girl reaching the age of majority. According to the Levush the blessing is because the child is punished until now for the sins of the father. If so, for a daughter too one should bless 'who has freed me from this punishment' because a daughter is also punished for the sins of her father.

According to the explanation of the Magen Avraham that it's from an aspect of education and that it's on the father to educate his son, and if he avoids it he his punished for it. Following this, we can say that there is no need to bless on a daughter...

From here on even according to the Magen Avraham we can also bless on a daughter who has reached the age of mitzvot. When it says son in the midrash is not literal as this is the rule for a daughter... and according to what I wrote above that we bless also on a daughter, in part according to what I wrote that the essence of the blessing is to bless without shem and malchut, if so there is not as much of a concern for saying it also on a daughter that has become bat mitzvah. In truth, the words of midrash rabbah that says a man needs to support his son until 13 years and from there onwards, and then bless 'who has freed me from this punishment'. The obvious explanation is according to the Magen Avraham that until now the father was punished for the sins of the son because he didn't educate him, and not according to the Levush who explained that the blessing is on the exemption of the son from punishment for the father...

It is appropriate that the father bless 'who has freed me from this punishment' at the party without shem and malchut in the same way one blesses a son that has reached bar mitzvah.

Yitzchak Nissim, Noam 7 (1964)

[Chief Sephardi Rabbi of Israel 1955–1972]

A daughter, upon reaching bat mitzvah age, whether we bless, according to the reasons for the bracha that we have explained above it seems that we can also bless for a daughter, since a daughter also requires education and is also punished for her father's sins... However, I have not found anyone who wrote that we bless on a daughter... We can say in all of this, in short I say there is room to bless on a daughter without shem or malchut...