“They came as orphans.

They left as Bnei Torah-
with a stage, a siyum, and a future.”

A New Chapter for 56 Young Men: Zeh Lazeh’s Bar Mitzvah Gala Transforms Mourning into Momentum

Fifty-six boys. Missing a father or mother, to guide them. One night to tell them: You are not broken. You are not forgotten. You are kings.

That was the unspoken message echoing through the halls of Binyanei Ha’uma last Thursday, as Zeh Lazeh hosted its annual Bar Mitzvah Gala for boys in its Bnei Melachim program. But this wasn’t a display of pity. Rather, it was a declaration of strength.

A Program That Restores Dignity

Under the leadership of Rebbetzin Rothenberg—wife of Harav Naftali Hersh Rothenberg and daughter of the Toldos Aharon Rebbe zy”a, Zeh Lazeh has become a national lifeline for widows and orphans across Eretz Yisrael. Its signature Bnei Melachim program pairs these yesomim with hand-picked yungerleit who learn with them, mentor them, and often become their closest role models.

These aren’t just chavrusas. They’re anchors. They turn loss into resilience, confusion into growth, and on this night, they stood proudly at the side of their talmidim, celebrating a milestone that every boy deserves.

The Hall Was Not Just Full—It Was Full of Purpose

This year’s Bar Mitzvah was intentionally public. Families and organizers agreed: these boys deserve a night not of survival, but of celebration. They wore their finest. They stood tall. And they were met with overflowing kavod.

Hundreds filled the room. Family, mentors, community supporters, joined by many gedolim from across Eretz Yisrael, Sephardi and Ashkenazi, Litvish and Chassidish, came to honor the occasion, including the Biala, Nadvorna, Dorog, and Pittsburgher Rebbes, and Harav Dovid Cohen of Yeshivas Chevron. There was a full orchestra, the Neshama Choir, and heartfelt niggunim led by R’ Yaakov Yehuda Daskal. It wasn’t just a simcha. It was a statement.

More Than Speeches; Moments That Mattered

There were powerful divrei chizuk, but the night’s most moving moments weren’t scripted.

Musical genius R’ Meir Adler, himself having lost his own father at a young age, offered a hauntingly personal musical presentation that truly captured the emotions of these young men. A Bnei Melachim alumnus who is today a respected yungerman, spoke quietly about what it meant to feel seen again after his father’s passing. Their words weren’t about loss. They were about what came after: growth, healing, connection.

Then came the siyum. Each boy completed a Mesechta. As the Kaddish rose, all in unison and in a beautiful achdus of varied accents and voices, there was no feeling of absence. Only presence. The presence of Torah. Of continuity. Of Klal Yisrael refusing to let go.

Dancing into the Future

And then the music exploded. The boys were lifted onto shoulders as simcha shel mitzvah filled the room. The Pittsburgher Rebbe led a spirited niggun; Harav Shimon Galai shlit”a danced with the boys with a lively and inspirational dance that was extremely lebedig and spirited. For a full hour, the distinction between child and adult, mentor and mentee, was replaced by something higher: Jewish joy.

They weren’t being comforted. They were being celebrated.

More Than a Gift

Each boy went home that night with a silver kiddush becher, which came with a special bracha from Hagaon Harav Moshe Sternbuch shlit”a. But the real gift was something deeper:
A silver becher, a completed Mesechta, and the message: You are not broken. You are beloved.

That is the mission of Zeh Lazeh. That is the power of Bnei Melachim. •