Chabad-Lubavitch embraced the Russian Jews who flooded Israel following the fall of communism, assisting them physically and spiritually. With no friend or family in Israel, Colel Chabad became their family and arranged a grand Bar Mitzvah party at the Western Wall for 500 Bar Mitzvah boys. At this occasion, each of the boys was given his own pair of tefillin. This mass Bar Mitzvah at the Wall has become a yearly tradition.
