Orphan Raised by Shluchim Celebrates Bar Mitzvah in Odessa
He arrived at the “Mishpacha Ukraine” orphanage of the Rebbe’s Shluchim in the port city of Odessa at just 11 days old. Now, at the onset of the fifth year of war in Ukraine, amid constant sirens and attacks, Avraham marked his Bar Mitzvah in a grand hall in Odessa. “This is the greatest victory of life over the missiles.” • Read More, Photos
At a time when the world has grown accustomed to reports of ongoing conflict in Ukraine, one deeply moving moment in besieged Odessa managed to momentarily overshadow the fear of war.
Avraham, a boy whose life story is intertwined with that of the Jewish orphanage “Mishpacha Ukraine,” celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in an event that became a powerful display of hope and Emunah.
His story began 13 years ago, when he was abandoned and brought to the community’s institutions at just 11 days old. Since then, the orphanage has been the only family he has ever known. This week, dressed in his Shabbos finest and donning Tefillin for the first time, he stood at the center of a grand event hall in Odessa, surrounded by hundreds of friends, educators, and community members who came to share in the simcha of a child they watched grow up.
“A Symbol of Our Strength”
While the sounds of war echoed outside, inside the hall, 124 children from the orphanage danced and sang songs of faith.
“Avraham is a Bar Mitzvah boy—but he is much more than that,” one of his educators said emotionally. “He is living testimony that even when the world around us is burning, we continue to build and raise the next generation.”
Rabbi Avraham Wolff, together with his wife Rebbetzin Chaya, has accompanied Avraham since the very day he arrived as an infant. For them, this event marked both a personal and national milestone.
“When a child comes to us at 11 days old and grows up here until his Bar Mitzvah amid war and uncertainty—it is a miracle,” they shared. “To see him standing there, filled with joy, is the greatest blessing we could ask for.”
A Prayer for Ukraine and Eretz Yisroel
The emotional peak of the evening came when the Bar Mitzvah boy recited a special Tefillah. Avraham used the moment to Daven for peace and victory—not only for Ukraine, but also for Eretz Yisroel and the soldiers of the IDF.
Despite the complex economic and security challenges in the region, the Jewish community of Odessa once again demonstrated its refusal to surrender to hardship.
“A Bar Mitzvah is a declaration of continuity,” Rabbi Wolff concluded. “In a place where others try to sow destruction, we are planting life and a future.”
As the evening came to a close and the children returned to the protected orphanage building, Avraham’s message echoed powerfully: even as the fifth year of war begins, the light shines strong! Yiddishkeit continues to grow and flourish!
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