An Israeli boy who faced relentless bullying and expected his bar mitzvah to be a lonely affair was surprised when 100 strangers turned up to celebrate with him.

Volunteers helped the boys put on their tefillin and dance at the Western Wall to celebrate their coming of age.

The 137th Battalion operates the Iron Dome missile defense system.

'I felt that it wasn't appropriate to have a party now. When I saw the soldiers eating and enjoying themselves, that was 1,000 times more meaningful.'

“I remember the event like today. It happened right before Rosh Hashanah and it was a very difficult birth. It was a very big miracle."

In a moving ceremony, dozens of young Indian Jews celebrate their Bar Mitzvahs at the Western Wall while on a Birthright trip.

'These boys whose lives were in complete turmoil amidst a brutal war just a few weeks ago are now blessed to celebrate their bar mitzvas at this holiest and most special of places.'

Every morning a Jew should wake up and feel fortunate to have the Torah and the opportunity to observe its commandments. We remember this even more so on Shavuot.

These two pilots took their spirituality to new heights by participating in a cockpit bar mitzvah before leaving the ground.

One Holocaust survivor said his whole body was shaking when he celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall.

'I was three when my dad was killed. This year I wanted to tell my class who my dad was. I am very proud of him and happy that I got many of his characteristics,' participant Hila Ganon said.

At a moving bar mitzvah ceremony at Jerusalem's Western Wall, 15 underprivileged boys read from the Torah and put on tefillin, as is customary during this traditional Jewish rite of passage.

'You are not just young men and women. You are young men and women who overcome obstacles. I would even say that each one of you is a hero!' Rivlin told the children.

Never too late! In a moving ceremony, 45 Holocaust survivors marked an important milestone in their lives, albeit decades later.

Each Bar Mitzvah boy was escorted to the Kotel , where they made the traditional blessing over the Torah for the first time.

This is the story of one family's magnificent trip to Israel, which had great spiritual as well as historical and recreational significance.

President Reuven Rivlin hosted 53 children, victims of Palestinian terror, in celebration of their milestone coming-of-age event.

President Reuven Rivlin hosted 58 children who had lost a family member to Palestinian terror, in celebration of their milestone coming-of-age event.

A spiritually meaningful and joyous program for orphaned boys, hosted by Colel Chabad organization in Jerusalem, was the brainchild of a widowed father of 13.

"A childhood without a father is a difficult childhood. The fact that my father is not with me physically is very difficult, but he is always in my heart."