For those who have lost a parent, life’s joyous milestones can seem like a double-edged sword. There are times to celebrate, yet those times are often coupled with a sense of loss.
For children, particularly boys approaching their bar mitzvah, it’s hard to imagine marking this passage into adulthood without their moms or dads—or in some cases, both parents—present to witness the occasion.
Then, of course, there are the financial considerations. For single parents, coming up with the money for a bar mitzvah celebration, even a very modest one, can be very expensive. That’s where Colel Chabad in Jerusalem comes in.
Last month, the organization hosted a mega bar mitzvah celebration for 113 orphaned boys and their families. The youngsters came from throughout Israel and gathered at the Western Wall, where they received their own set of tefillin and were called up to recite the blessing on the Torah.
“Many of the boys didn’t want to go to a synagogue for their bar mitzvah because they didn’t have their fathers, and the father is a major figure in the synagogue,” said Rabbi Sholom Duchman, the international director of Colel Chabad. “Some didn’t want a ceremony, but having a bar mitzvah with other kids in the same situation made it easier for them.”
The bar mitzvah mega-event is held annually on the 11th day of the month of Nissan. Originally, the group bar mitzvah program was offered to boys whose families had emigrated from the former Soviet Union, but given that there is no longer mass aliyah from Russia and its surrounding countries, Colel Chabad identified another group of boys in need—those who have lost a parent.
This year marked the sixth group bar mitzvah that was co-sponsored by the Centro Judaico, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2008, Rabbi Yitzchak Michaan, director of Centro Judaico, held a bar mitzvah for his son in the Jewish Quarter and invited 10 orphans of bar mitzvah age to celebrate with them. Afterwards, Rabbi Michaan approached Rabbi Duchman requesting that they further develop and implement this idea as an annual event for orphans from throughout Israel.
After the ceremony at the Kotel, the boys and their families (each was allowed to invite 10 guests) traveled to Binyanei Hauma, the Jerusalem International Convention Center, for a private banquet.
There, they were joined by Israel’s Chief Rabbis—Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef—as well as local politicians from across the spectrum. The boys and their families had their photos taken, enjoyed a festive dinner with music and entertainment, and each received a special bar mitzvah gift.
Mazel Tov to the bar mitzvah boys!
