"Lost" Polish Jew marks bar mitzvah at Western Wall
| Mariusz Aoflko celebrates his bar mitzvah in Jerusalem with Shavei Israel's help |
It began with a secret told by a dying woman to her son. The mother of Mariusz Robert Aoflko, a Polish attorney, told him she had been hiding the truth from him.
Though he had been raised as a Catholic, he was a Jew, she said - and not only a Jew but a (priestly) Kohen as well. The revelation changed his life.
Earlier this month, Aoflko was in Jersualem to celebrate his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall. Plus our own special photo gallery from the event and a special video of the festivities!
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A Shabbaton for more than 100 Colombian Bnei Anousim in Bogota
| Shavei Israel's Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum and Michael Freund with Colombian Bnei Anousim during Shabbaton in Bogota |
Colombian Jewish businessman Jack Goldstein has traveled the world for work and pleasure, from Ecuador to Ethiopia, Brazil to Burma. And in every place he visits, however far off the beaten track, he makes a point of seeking out something Jewish.
But his greatest Jewish "discovery" - and now contribution - may turn out to be right in his own backyard. Goldstein, who lives in the country's capital, Bogota, has become a staunch supporter of the burgeoning Bnei Anousim community in Colombia, one that has grown remarkably in the last few decades. He recently sponsored a weekend Shabbaton for more than 100 Bnei Anousim.
Click here to read all about what Jack is doing together with Shavei Israel to support Colombia's Bnei Anousim.
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