Have you ever been to Mackinac Island, Michigan?
Last week Esty and I spent a day on the island after visiting our kids in Michigan camps. We ‘randomly’ bumped into Ivan. Ivan, born and raised in Russia, immigrated to the US in 2014, knew very little of Judaism, other than the fact that his mother and grandmother were Jewish. After chatting for a while, he shared that several months ago he began to explore Judaism and Kabbala and was marveling at how unexpected it was to meet a Rabbi Zak on Mackinac. We then decided that we would meet up the next morning, before he would sail off, to perform the Mitzvah of wrapping Teffilin, for his first time ever.
Mazel Tov Ivan for your Mackinac Bar Mitzvah!