200 boys arrived from across Europe last week for an uplifting journey in Israel - initiated by the Rabbinical Center of Europe, which holds an annual journey for boys and girls to strengthen their connection to Judaism and connect them to their roots.
The highlight of the trip was the Bar Mitzvah ceremony held for dozens of boys at the remains of our temple, who until now had not had the opportunity to celebrate their Bar Mitzvah.
The journey of the Mitzvah boys from Europe for 2015 ended with an elevated and moving ceremony of the Ascension of All the Boys to the Torah near the remains of our Temple, the Western Wall, and with a central celebration in the Cave of Zedekiah.
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The journey, which takes place every year at the initiative of the Rabbinical Center of Europe, and was postponed last year due to the war, began in Tiberias and Safed, where the boys toured, accompanied by rabbis and heads of Jewish communities from France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Poland, Montenegro and Uganda.
For most of them, this was their first time in Israel in general and Jerusalem in particular, and the goal of the trip was to connect the participants to the people of Israel and strengthen their Jewish identity and connection to the Jewish people. What a wonderful, exciting and moving spectacle it was to see the mitzvah boys placing tefillin near the Western Wall and burying their hearts' wishes in the stones of the Western Wall. One of the boys summed up the trip: 'I never knew there were so many Jews in the world.'.
The large group was welcomed at the Western Wall by the eminent Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Places and the Western Wall Heritage Administration, and a central and moving celebration was held later for the bar mitzvahs who were not able to celebrate their bar mitzvah.
The main celebration took place in the Cave of Tzedekiah and was welcomed by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Kalman Bar, who was very excited to meet them, as well as Rabbi Meir Porush, Minister of Jerusalem and Jewish Tradition, who, together with the members of his office, helped make the trip a success. Also participating in the Bar Mitzvah ceremony for the boys, Amichai Shikli, Minister of the Diaspora, and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon, who sang "Praise be to Jerusalem" with the children and gave them an emotional welcome.
The evening culminated in a special and moving meeting of the participants with Danny Miran, the father of the kidnapped Omri Miran, from whom a sign of life was recently received. Danny Miran was very moved to witness the youth from all over Europe and told the story of his son Omri's kidnapping and asked all the youth to unite together in prayer for his son's release, and thanks to unity and mutual support we will defeat our enemies.
He also mentioned that he was among the liberators of the Western Wall in 1967 and how excited he was to see the children from Europe at the Western Wall.
Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg, CEO of the Rabbinical Center of Europe: "Despite the war and the difficulties of flights from Europe, we made every effort to carry out the journey, because precisely at this time when anti-Semitism is rising, this is the winning answer to strengthening Jewish identity everywhere.".
In the moving words of thanks and summary sent by the rabbis of the various communities, the words of Matti and Chaya Lewis from Baku, Azerbaijan, stood out: "I have known Rabbi Aryeh for many years, but what I experienced this week left me speechless. We are certain that this experience will leave a deep mark in the children's hearts and will influence their Jewish future and bring them very close. The parents who were briefed on the entire journey never cease to be grateful and amazed.".
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Rabbi Levi Hefer from Düsseldorf, Germany, concluded: "This is not the first time we have participated in the journey, but it is still something that is not self-evident, and it inspires admiration every time. The fact that so much money, thought time and effort is invested in boys and girls from Europe is special and exciting. Where else is there a Jewish organization in the world that takes on such a project, bears all the costs, and you just have to join. This is an amazing holy work!"
Rabbi Moshe Raskin from Uganda asked to join Rabbi Lewis in his words: "The joy and elation we experienced last week cannot be described. Everything was part of the experience. It was exciting to see the new friendships formed between the children. Children who don't say a word have found friends in their hearts and opened up. The inspiration that the Rabbinical Center of Europe gives us pushes us to pick ourselves up, one by one, and join the experience anew each time.".
""There is no doubt that the Rebbe's blessings accompany us and his blessings are endless for all the organizers and participants, until your lips are worn out from saying enough. Happy Purim with good news!""
All the rabbis and community leaders expressed their warmest gratitude to the management of the Rabbinical Center of Europe, led by the center's chairman, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, and to the center's director general, Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg, Rabbi Yossi Beinhacker, deputy director general of the center, Rabbi Avraham Abba Toretzky, secretary of the Council of Rabbis of Europe, and the office's staff, the Jerusalem and Israel Tradition Office, the Jewish Journey organization, which successfully produced the journey, and Rabbi Eli Eidelkopf of the EJDF organization.
In addition, they thanked the Meromim Foundation - with the assistance of Rabbi Ben Zion Lipsker, the company 'Colors and Productions' for the wonderful production of the Bar Mitzvah celebration, the Western Wall Heritage and CEO Soli Eliav and the team, and the Rosenbaum Strategy and Public Relations firm, which was entrusted with the uplifting journey for Bar Mitzvahs from across Europe.
