Colel Chabad holds annual bar mitzvah ceremony for children who have lost parents

A mass bar mitzvah was held at the Western Wall on Monday for children who had lost parents, in an annual tradition that was almost cancelled this year due to Iran's aerial attack on Israel the previous Saturday night. 

The event is held annually on the Jewish date of Nissan 11, the Hebrew birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late Lubavitcher rebbe. 

Each participant received his own set of tefillin as well as new clothes for the occasion. 

Following the ceremony, the families were hosted at Jerusalem's International Convention Center and treated to a three course meal and concert. 

A life-long memory

One young man, Refael, came with his mother from Haifa for the occasion. When Refael was seven, he lost his father to cancer. He and his mother are also grieving the loss of a relative who was killed on October 7. 

Refael's mother Gila expressed her gratitude for the event: "We can promise," she said, "that this is a memory that will stay with us for the rest of our lives."