Their Big Day: Five Refugee Children Finally Celebrate Their Bar Mitzvah

From Zhytomyr in West Ukraine to Ashkelon in Southern Israel, and then swiftly to Kfar Chabad in Central Israel, five 13-year-old teenage boys from FJC’s ‘Alumim’ orphanage and children’s home have at last had the opportunity to celebrate their significant milestone in a unique and heartfelt event.

“Typically,” explains Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm, Director of the ‘Alumim’ Children’s Home and the Chief Rabbi of West Ukraine, “we hold an annual event for children reaching the age of Bar Mitzvah. Unfortunately, due to the emergency situation in Ukraine, which led us to seek refuge in Israel and subsequently relocate from Ashkelon further into the country, our kids hadn’t yet had the chance to mark this important day.”

In the embrace of friends, relatives, and numerous guests, Yehuda, Mendel, David, Nazer, and Israel marked their Bar Mitzvah and 13th birthday in a splendid hall in Kfar Chabad.

Each of them diligently prepared for his Bar Mitzvah, received special gifts, and savored social activities that united them on this truly momentous day.