A Bas Mitzvah celebration is being planned at the Kosel for 100 holocaust survivors whose 12th birthday passed during the nightmare of terror with certainly no thought of a celebration. For many women, the missing noting of this important milestone remained like a hole in their lives and they are extremely grateful for the closure offered at the upcoming celebration. the following is a letter written by one holocaust survivor who is so thankful that she wrote a letter to Ezer Mizion even before the event happened.
Only 9 years old, a veteran of the Lodz ghetto, Ravensbruck, and Siemens, orphaned of father and mother, no living siblings, no family, friendless and alone, with no language, no past, and – as it appeared then – also no future.
At age 12, I stood before the death truck and, at the last minute, I didn’t get on.
G-d in His infinite mercy gathered me up in His hands, spared me from death and took me out to look towards life.
No one celebrated my Bat Mitzvah with me, not at age 12 and not afterward.
In the course of the years, I celebrated the bat mitzvah milestone with my own daughters, my granddaughters, and my great-granddaughters. But I myself have been missing this important celebration in my life.
My deepest gratitude and admiration to you for finding this day to celebrate our bat mitzvah with us and for everything that you give us.
With a giant thank you,
Rivka Kaufman
