A Bar and Bas Mitzvah retreat recently took place in Ukraine. Dozens of 12 and 13 years old Jewish youngsters gathered for a special retreat at the Baal Shem Tov’s Ohel in the town of Medzhybizh in Western Ukraine.
The festive retreat was organized by the EnerJew youth movement, active across the former Soviet Union, operating in the FJC framework and part of Chabad’s JRNU activities in Ukraine.
The event concluded an impressive Bar and Bas Mitzvah program, which included weekly meetings for the Bar and Bas Mitzvah teens with the local rabbis in their cities. The young participants who persevered in the weekly meetings and excelled in the tasks set for them received a gift of tefillin (for boys) to put on daily or silver candlesticks for lighting Shabbos candles (for girls).
The retreat’s theme focused on Jewish pride and was attended by boys and girls from all over Ukraine. It was made possible thanks to the support of the Finger Family Foundation and the Meromim Foundation, headed by Rabbi Benzion Lipsker, and thanks to the dedicated efforts of the EnerJew team.
The seminar was conducted by Rabbi Yaakov Yakimenko, Rabbi David Kuflik, and Mrs. Lena Kovilova.
Participating in the retreat were the Shluchim Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glitzenshtein from Chernivtsi, Rabbi Shaul Horowitz from Vinnytsia, Rabbi Simcha Levenhartz from Kyiv, and the Alpern family from Zhytomyr.
Additionally, the retreat was attended by the executive director of FJC’s ‘Atidenu’, R’ Shlomo Neeman, as well as R’ Avraham Bleich from Kyiv.
“The event was unique,” says Rabbi Glitzenshtein. “There were boys here from all over Ukraine, even from the front-line cities. Amid the crisis, many of the participants are currently disconnected from their former friends and live in safer cities. This celebration, with Jewish friends from all over Ukraine, gave them great joy.”
“It was a year of courses and meetings,” adds Rabbi Glitzenshtein, “during which they learned about the significance of Jewish tradition and heritage. After such an uplifting year, everyone gathered for the celebration and the feeling was very emotional. Words cannot describe how the children felt when they received the tefillin and the girls received the candlesticks. It was a very inspiring retreat that they will remember all their lives.”
Rabbi Levenhartz from Kyiv adds, “Every moment of the retreat was utilized. The participants enjoyed everything much more than expected, thanks to packed day schedules of uplifting programs. The smiles on their faces at the end of Shabbaton illustrated the success of the retreat. They all left very united and strengthened.”
