This is the B'nai Mitzvah Remembrance Wall, which stands in KKL-JNF’s USA Independence Park in the Judean Mountains. It commemorates the 1.5 million Jewish children that were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust, and therefore never got to celebrate their Bar or Bat Mitzvah.
A Bar Mitzvah boy unveils his dedication on the B’nai Mitzvah Memorial Wall. Credit: Yoav Devir, KKL-JNF
The story of the wall begins in 2006, with a 12 year-old Jewish boy in St. Louis in Missouri, and one very special book.
Young Max Levin was looking for a special project in Israel to adopt, as a meaningful way to celebrate his upcoming Bar Mitzvah. He travelled to Israel with his parents on a project-finding mission. On that trip, they paid a visit to the KKL-JNF headquarters in Jerusalem, where they saw the elaborate volumes of the historic Books of Honor. It was one particular Book, however, that caught Max’s attention – The Children’s Book, or Sefer HaYeled (Hebrew).
This special volume was created by KKL-JNF in 1933, for people to inscribe the names of children who were just born or were celebrating a bar or bat mitzvah, often including a photograph of the child being honored. Sadly, this book became extremely important after the Holocaust, since many children who perished could be identified thanks to their having been inscribed in the book.
Upon hearing about the bitter fate of these children during the Holocaust, Max resolved then and there to do something to commemorate them. Aided by his parents Bud and Judy Levin, Max worked with JNF USA and KKL-JNF to create the B’nai Mitzva Remembrance Wall.
The Memorial Wall, carved out of Jerusalem stone in the shape of a Torah scroll. Credit: KKL-JNF Photo Archive
The wall, which stands in USA Independence Park west of Jerusalem, is fashioned from Jerusalem stone in the shape of a Torah scroll. In exchange for a modest donation, a modern-day Bar\Bat Mitzvah celebrant gets to commemorate a forgotten child by being inscribed together on the B’nai Mitzvah Wall.
Today, the wall bears rows of glass plates - each one inscribed with the name, birthday and home town of an American Bar\Bat Mitzvah honoree, together with the name and birthplace of a “twin” who never got to celebrate one. The project is thus a direct and meaningful way for a young diaspora teen to connect with young victims of the Holocaust.
Plaques bearing the names of modern bar\bat mitzvah celebrants, together with the name of a forgotten child. Photo: Yoav Devir