A recent bar mitzvah celebration held in Odessa, Ukraine, highlighted the dedicated service that Chabad shluchim (emissaries) are providing local Jews amid war.
The bar mitzvah boy hails from Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he was cared for by the shluchim Rabbi Elchanan and Leah Cohen.
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Boy recites prayer during bar mitzvah celebration in Odessa, Ukraine
(Photo: Jewish community in Odessa)
At the age of 6, he was sent to Chabad’s Mishpacha orphanage in Odessa, under the care of Rabbi Avraham and Chaya Wolff. There he was raised alongside other children with much love and care.
He traveled with the orphanage when they were evacuated due to Russia’s war on Ukraine and returned to Odessa when it became safer.
Now, at the age of 13, the boy washed his hands and cut a large challah, distributing a piece to all participants.
3 View gallery
Boy recites prayer during bar mitzvah celebration in Odessa, Ukraine
(Photo: Jewish community in Odessa)
The event began with the reading of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s letter to bar mitzvah boys. The bar mitzvah boy then recited the Chassidic discourse (maamar) “Isa b’medrash tillim,” which speaks about the virtue of the mitzvah of tefillin.
“We saw the bar mitzvah boy sitting in the front row of the synagogue, fluently and clearly reciting the maamar, and the entire crowd respectfully listening in silence and admiration,” commented Rabbi Cohen.
Each stage of the event was moving and uplifting for all participants. The shluchim, Rabbi Mendy and Mushka Wolff, invested great thought and special attention in caring for every detail. Everything was arranged and decorated personally, including stickers with the boy’s picture and birthday wishes on the drink bottles.
It was a bar mitzvah celebration that illustrated the sweet fruits of the orphanage and the significant investment of the Wolf family, who dedicate themselves to each child individually and uniquely.
“This special celebration is another step in the development of Jewish life in Odessa, a city that has endured many missiles and shelling for over two years,” concluded Mr. Igor Shtehin, chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Southern Ukraine.