There were no monogrammed hoodies, photo booths, or celebrants lifted shakily on chairs high in the air. But for the 11 women who celebrated their bat mitzvah at the Edith and Carl Marks JCH of Bensonhurst, a UJA partner, this past June, simply being alive to reach this milestone — and sharing it with their children and grandchildren — was a dream come true.

The women, all Russian-speaking Holocaust survivors between the ages of 85 and 95, are among the 70,000 Jews who emigrated from the Soviet Union, mostly in the 1980s and 1990s, that the Marks JCH helped resettle in the U.S.

Today, the center’s Holocaust Survivors Center serves a population of 800. This was the first such bat mitzvah held at the center since it was established in 1927 by German Jews to help resettle Eastern European Jews.

The center offers survivors programs ranging from resettlement assistance to human services, adult literacy classes, and job placement and training. Holiday programs and services, complete with a bima and Torah scrolls, routinely attract 150 to 200 people.

Still, for the center’s survivor community, something was missing.  While each had proudly witnessed their children’s and grandchildren’s b’nai mitzvahs, none of the survivors had had one of their own. Seeing their grandchildren celebrate this milestone, they longed to do the same.

With the help of a grant from UJA, the Marks JCH hired a director of Jewish life and learning, which has served as a catalyst for a range of Jewish life programs. In January 2025, the women, who were all members of the center’s Holocaust Survivors Center, began preparing for their big day. During twice-monthly meetings, they chose a Torah portion that revolved around journeys — a topic that resonated deeply with them given their own personal journeys — to focus on.

They read the portion, Lech Lecha, and memorized several lines to recite together. They talked about Jewish liturgy, Russian Jews in Israel, and other topics, much of it specific to their own experiences. They learned Jewish songs in Russian, Hebrew, Yiddish, and English.

At the ceremony itself, all 11 celebrants read their lines from the Torah together. In lieu of a live bat mitzvah speech, or d’var Torah, in a video they had recorded earlier, the women shared their reflections on what it meant for them to be Jewish and, particularly, Jewish women. The point in the ceremony where the women were going to light memorial candles for those who had died in the Holocaust or were otherwise unable to be there took a spontaneous turn when most of those in the room decided they want to light candles as well.

Another moving moment was when the children and grandchildren in attendance were called up to receive a blessing from their parent or grandparent.

A reception, complete with a joyous dancing of the hora (minus the traditional lifting of chairs), followed. For the survivors, seeing the Torah up close, being able to touch it, was tremendously special, recalls Gelena Blishteyn, associate executive director at the Marks JCH. “It is so important for immigrant survivors to pass on their Jewish identity to their children.” Fittingly, the theme of the bat mitzvah was “L’dor v’dor,” (from generation to generation).

“When you get to a certain age, you’re no longer the one who is celebrated,” adds Violetta Shmulenzon, assistant executive director of the Marks JCH. “It was an interesting thing to see, multiple generations coming together to celebrate these women. Three or four generations were there who would not have been had this person not survived. It was a true picture of Jewish resilience.”

This may have been the first celebration of its kind for survivors at the JCH, but it won’t be the last. Its coordinators have already heard from both men and women who would like to celebrate their b’nai mitzvah as well.

For the survivors, being able to mark this occasion with the younger generations of their families was especially important. “They left the Soviet Union so they could be Jewish.” Now, so many years later, they are joyfully and proudly celebrating who they’ve always been.