Fred's Second Bar Mitzvah - A Triumph Over the Nazis

Just have to share this story with you all,

He is a well-known and beloved figure to us all in the Palisades. But if you didn't know him, you would pass him off as just a friendly 80-something senior who packs bags at the local Gelsons.

I know him as Fred Wolf, one of the most vivacious individuals I have ever met. He is also a survivor of the Holocaust. The number tattooed on Fred’s left arm serves as an indelible reminder of the horrors he endured at the hands of the Nazis.

At the request of the students in the Pali High Jewish club, which is run in conjunction with Chabad of Pacific Palisades, I invited Fred to share his story of triumph and survival with the club members during several club meetings.

The first Friday, club day arrived.  Word had gotten out and the club room was packed with over 70 students listening intently and teary eyed to each German-accented word spoken by Fred.  As Fred concluded the first part of his story, he gazed to the back of the room. Suddenly he exclaimed, “Hey, what are you doing? Are you laying Tefillin?”

With warmth and nostalgia, Fred pointed to the Jewish prayer boxes (Tefillin) that one of the boys was wearing. Traditionally, Jewish men begin wearing these leather prayer amulets at the age of 13, the time of their Bar Mitzvah, during prayers in the morning)

"Fred," I asked, "when was the last time you put on Tefillin?"  "Let me see now," Fred began to think far back into his past, "more than 70 years ago."

It turned out that Fred had not practiced this Mitzvah (commandment) since the Holocaust tore him from his faith and his family and robbed him of his youth and innocence.

At that point I asked Fred, “How old are you?”  He replied that he was now 87 years old.  “Fred,” I said, “that means that you are four years late.”  “Late for what?” he called back.  “For your second Bar Mitzvah!”  I responded.  All the students got excited and started to cheer and clap. 
I explained to Fred that the custom in the Jewish faith is to start counting your age again beginning when you reach the age of 70.  So when you are 13 years above 70, you can celebrate your second Bar Mitzvah at the age of 83.

This was turning into a special and unforgettable moment.  “What do you say Fred? Would you like to celebrate your second Bar Mitzvah together with us and put on Tefillin again after 70 years?” I asked. “Yes, sure,” Fred calmly accepted. The mood in the room grew from solemn and respectful to touching and epic.  The kids crowded around Fred with their iPhones, cameras and any other devices that could possibly capture this moment that held so much meaning for them.

Fred rolled up the sleeve of his left arm exposing the number tattoo.  I helped him recite the blessing as he strapped the leather Tefillin to the top of his arm.  Together we continued to wind the strap around his forearm. When we reached the tattoo, I paused.  I wanted to communicate the feelings we were all sharing. I said, “This tattoo represents everything they tried to take from you; your faith, your family and friends, your people, your life! Today as you celebrate your second Bar Mitzvah, these Tefillin straps which mark Jewish life, practice and survival, coil around the mark that numbered your position in line for the gas chambers.  You won, you survived!”

What a moment it was, to witness a man return to a Jewish tradition that was tragically interrupted so many years ago by people intent on annihilating it.  The students snapped away at their cameras and bright flashes lit up Fred’s satisfied face. The only thing I could say to express the feelings of that moment is the indelible Hebrew phrase used throughout thousands of years of Jewish history:

“Am Yisrael Chai” – The people of Israel live and survive!