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Over the weekend, we were excited to host the children of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, who experienced unforgettable horrors on Simchat Torah (October 7th), at a moving Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebration at the Western Wall.
They were welcomed by the rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, and the director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Mr. Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, who blessed them upon reaching the age of Torah and commandments, offered them encouragement in light of the difficult times they had experienced, and wished them a swift return to their homes in peace.
In an impressive and moving ceremony, the Bar Mitzvah boys received a pair of tefillin and went up to the Torah in the synagogue in the Western Wall Tunnels, while the Bat Mitzvah girls received candlesticks and necklaces with pendants engraved with the Western Wall and gathered together for a joint “hafrashat challah” and candle lighting.
At the end of the ceremony, everyone joined together in prayer and supplication for our captured brethren, the soldiers in the field, and the entire nation of Israel.
After the prayer, the boys and girls explored the “Look into the Past” virtual reality experience and watched the new exhibit, Heaven’s Gate, that will soon be open to the public.
