“The Tefillin of the Kidnapped Brother – The Prayers of Everyone”: An Emotional Bar Mitzvah Celebration at the Western Wall
In an emotional ceremony at the Western Wall, Ziv Breslavsky celebrated his Bar Mitzvah, but the heavy shadow of his brother Rom’s absence—who was kidnapped by Hamas to Gaza—loomed over the event.
The extended family arrived from all over Israel to Jerusalem, where the celebration took place alongside heartfelt prayers for Rom’s return home. One of the most moving moments of the event was when the rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, and the director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Mr. Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, placed Rom’s tefillin on Ziv.
The ceremony was also attended by Julie Kuperstein, mother of Bar Kuperstein, and Efrat Mor, mother of Eitan Mor, who were kidnapped along with Rom Breslavsky from the Nova festival and are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. The presence of the mothers strengthened the sense of solidarity and shared pain among the families of the hostages. Together with all the attendees, they offered a heartbreaking prayer for the return of their loved ones.
All those present prayed for the day when Rom would return home and put on the same tefillin that had been placed on his younger brother’s arm. At the end of the ceremony, the family and attendees released balloons into the sky, symbolizing hope for the safe return of Rom and all the hostages.
