Anyone who happened to be at the massive complex near Moscow this past weekend would have found it hard to remain indifferent. Fifty boys—Bar Mitzvah boys—gathered together for a grand celebration that concluded an entire year of study, effort, and preparation. This was not just another event, but a historic milestone for boys, some of whom come from remote communities where keeping the Jewish spark alive requires literal mesiras nefesh.

The massive event was produced by EnerJew—the Chabad youth movement of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJC). The participants did not end up here by chance; they were carefully selected from over 400 members who took part in a Bar Mitzvah program called ‘Upgrade’. Throughout the year, they participated in classes, workshops, and community activities with the local Shluchim, preparing for the biggest day of their lives.

The excitement in the hall reached its peak when the organization’s founder, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berel Lazar, personally presented each of the Bar Mitzvah boys with a magnificent pair of Tefillin. It was a moment that didn’t leave a dry eye and symbolized, in the most tangible way, the youth’s connection to the chain of generations.

While this program has been running for several years, what makes this year unique—beyond the large numbers—is the arrival of dozens of participants from the provinces and small communities. These are places where there is no available Jewish educational infrastructure, and these boys learned everything through a screen with the help of the “Ohr Menachem” online Jewish school. Twenty of them made an especially long journey just to be there physically, to meet the friends they had only known through Zoom, and to celebrate together.

Throughout the seminar and Shabbos, the atmosphere was electric. Workshops, chassidishe farbrengens late into the night, a boat cruise on the Moscow River, and a great deal of pure chassidishe simcha. The staff of Shluchim and educators did not leave the boys’ side for a moment. Among those present were Shluchim Rabbi Mendel Mondshine and Rabbi Moshe Rochlin from the organization’s administration, Rabbi Moshe Elkin, Rabbi Avraham Denisov, Rabbi Gershon Gershovitz, Rabbi Shneur Kosenko, and Rabbi Mendel Feldman.

But the moment of Shabbos, as everyone testified, took place on Shabbos morning. “Suddenly we realized that one of the participants was celebrating his actual 13th birthday that exact Shabbos. In an instant, he became everyone’s chosson. When he got an aliyah to the Torah, we all saw the faces of his friends. The excitement broke all records. The feeling of being one united family was more tangible than ever,” shared R’ Yaakov Suminsky, one of the heads of the organization, with emotion.

The Tefillin were sponsored by the Finger Family Foundation. The uplifting event was also graced by the presence of the Director General of the FJC, Rabbi Dovid Mondshine, and the Director of the ‘Yachad’ organization, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Wilansky. The Shabbaton was held with the vital support of ‘Keren Meromim‘, and was produced by the coordinators—Rabbi Azaria Shaulov and a broad team from the organization.

Photography: E. Prozhilina