The event, sponsored by Chabad-Lubavitch, brought together children of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union living across Israel. A Bar/Bat Mitzvah is the celebration of a child reaching the age of accepting the Torah’s commandments upon themselves - 12 for a girl, 13 for a boy.
The children involved in the program attend public schools, but have learned Torah several times a week with Chabad emissaries since the beginning of the school year. They learn the rudimentary laws and teachings of Judaism, with many of the boys studying the weekly Torah portion on which their 13th birthday falls.
Rabbi Shalom Duchman, the director of Kollel Chabad, the umbrella organizations behind the event, spoke with Israel National Radio’sEli Stutz about the event. “The idea is," he said, "that we teach children whose parents emigrated from the former Soviet Union, came to Israel and unfortunately did not have the chance to expose them to their Jewish heritage. We [have taught] them from the beginning of the school year until now, [followed by] a massive celebration where all the boys and girls gather from all over Israel together at the Kotel" - the Western Wall of the Temple Mount.
Each one of the Bar Mitzvah boys received a pair of tefillin, worn on the arm and head in accordance with Exodus 13,9 and Deut. 6,8, and each of the Bat Mitzvah girls received watches and candlesticks. All of the children were given special festive outfits.
After the ceremony, which featured Israel’s current and former Chief Rabbis and many members of the government, the children were treated to an afternoon at an amusement park in Tel Aviv.
Rabbi Duchman said the event was chosen as the most appropriate way to celebrate the date of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe’s birth. “The project is meant to commemorate and celebrate the birthday of the Rebbe, which is this coming Wednesday," he said. "For the Rebbe, who served the Jewish people for 55 years... a high priority in his life was the Jews of the former Soviet Union, both before and after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. We therefore feel that a meaningful way to celebrate and commemorate his birth and his gift to the world is by bringing together the Jews that he cared for so much. The Rebbe said in his first interview, ‘I am a Russian Jew.’ [He] took tremendous pride in his being a part of Russian Jewry. So we take these children as they embark on their path of Jewish life and we celebrate together with him in honor of his birthday."
Throughout the morning, Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies were held, followed by families setting up picnic tables around the Old City for family celebrations of the special day. “Many of the children’s grandparents are pinching themselves to see if what they are seeing is really true,” Druchman said. “For many of them it is their first time at the Kotel since they arrived in Israel. It is an incredible experience."
The children involved in the program attend public schools, but have learned Torah several times a week with Chabad emissaries since the beginning of the school year. They learn the rudimentary laws and teachings of Judaism, with many of the boys studying the weekly Torah portion on which their 13th birthday falls.
Rabbi Shalom Duchman, the director of Kollel Chabad, the umbrella organizations behind the event, spoke with Israel National Radio’sEli Stutz about the event. “The idea is," he said, "that we teach children whose parents emigrated from the former Soviet Union, came to Israel and unfortunately did not have the chance to expose them to their Jewish heritage. We [have taught] them from the beginning of the school year until now, [followed by] a massive celebration where all the boys and girls gather from all over Israel together at the Kotel" - the Western Wall of the Temple Mount.
Each one of the Bar Mitzvah boys received a pair of tefillin, worn on the arm and head in accordance with Exodus 13,9 and Deut. 6,8, and each of the Bat Mitzvah girls received watches and candlesticks. All of the children were given special festive outfits.
After the ceremony, which featured Israel’s current and former Chief Rabbis and many members of the government, the children were treated to an afternoon at an amusement park in Tel Aviv.
Rabbi Duchman said the event was chosen as the most appropriate way to celebrate the date of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe’s birth. “The project is meant to commemorate and celebrate the birthday of the Rebbe, which is this coming Wednesday," he said. "For the Rebbe, who served the Jewish people for 55 years... a high priority in his life was the Jews of the former Soviet Union, both before and after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. We therefore feel that a meaningful way to celebrate and commemorate his birth and his gift to the world is by bringing together the Jews that he cared for so much. The Rebbe said in his first interview, ‘I am a Russian Jew.’ [He] took tremendous pride in his being a part of Russian Jewry. So we take these children as they embark on their path of Jewish life and we celebrate together with him in honor of his birthday."
Throughout the morning, Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies were held, followed by families setting up picnic tables around the Old City for family celebrations of the special day. “Many of the children’s grandparents are pinching themselves to see if what they are seeing is really true,” Druchman said. “For many of them it is their first time at the Kotel since they arrived in Israel. It is an incredible experience."