(haipo) The Haifa Rotary Club, in collaboration with the Haifa Central Chabad House, headed by Rabbi Yehuda Ginsburg, initiated and led an educational and values-based journey for bar mitzvah boys and girls from Haifa to Jerusalem. The journey included a tour of the Old City, a festive ceremony at the Western Wall, and a visit to the Western Wall tunnels.
Tour of the Old City and a sublime ceremony at the Western Wall
The special day began with a pedestrian crossing through Shaar Zion, from where the participants continued on a tour of the Jewish Quarter and the Cardo area. After a Jerusalem lunch, the children arrived at the Western Wall for the culmination of the journey, a festive and uplifting ceremony for the mitzvah boys and girls. Rabbi Yehuda Ginzburg greeted the participants and said: "We have come to give you, the boys and girls, a special gift from the heart, which will accompany you throughout your lives," while emphasizing the importance of connecting to Jewish tradition. At the end of the ceremony, the children received personal kits, participated in the "Gate of Heaven" performance by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, and concluded the tour with a fascinating walk through the Western Wall tunnels.
President of Rotary Haifa: "A huge privilege to lead a values-based initiative for the children of Haifa"
Liat Sharaf, President of the Haifa Rotary Club, noted: "For us, it is a tremendous privilege to lead such a valuable and exciting initiative for the children of Haifa and their families. We are proud to continue to lead efforts for the Haifa community, and look forward to continued blessed collaborations."
The journey and preparations for it were led and accompanied on behalf of the Haifa Rotary Club by members of the board and committee: Yona Mazor, who played a central role in creating connections, coordinating, and producing the activity in Jerusalem, alongside Rotary members Dafna Ulman Bari, Moshe Bachar, Irit Yager, Shahar Shabu, and Mark Bezov, who accompanied the children throughout the day.
Personal support from the Chabad Haifa team
Alongside the Haifa Rotary team, the participants were accompanied throughout the journey by Rabbi Shneur Kaplan, Chabad youth emissary in Haifa, and his wife, Rebbetzin Malki, who provided the children with personal attention, liveliness, and enthusiasm. The community journey was intended to strengthen the connection of the children of the bar mitzvah from Haifa to the Jewish tradition and to Jerusalem, and the Haifa Rotary Club thanked all the partners and donors who helped make the day a success, and announced that it will continue to lead additional collaborations and social initiatives for the residents of Haifa.
Chabad is a missionary sect that opposes Zionism and believes in the coming of the Messiah.
We are from Haifa. My son celebrated his Bar Mitzvah and no one contacted us.
Unity is possible and exciting. Congratulations to you!!