In honor of their recent Bar Mitzvah, twin brothers Asher and Lior Freedman and family donated two new sets of tefillin (phylacteries) to Boys Town Jerusalem students in need. This generous gift adds a moving new chapter to the family’s nearly centuryold story of courage and miracles.
A family legacy of courage
Asher and Lior’s greatgrandfather, Asher Zelig Polski, was in his early 20s when the Nazis invaded Poland. Sentenced to a forced labor camp in 1942, he hastily packed several essentials – including his tefillin – into a small suitcase. The suitcase was immediately confiscated upon his arrival. Devastated, Asher miraculously managed to “ransom” the precious tefillin at the cost of two full days of his starvation rations. Against unimaginable odds, the tefillin became secretly used each day by nearly 200 prisoners who risked their lives to pray.
Survival and renewal
In 1944, Asher was transferred to the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp. He barely survived the brutal death march before Germany’s defeat the following year. By 1949, Asher, his wife, and baby daughter left a Displaced Persons camp in Germany to immigrate to Baltimore. His steadfast piety – and his treasured tefillin – became an inspiration for generations to come.
Connecting Torah and tradition
This year, Asher (named for his greatgrandfather) and Lior’s family immigrated to Israel from the USA. As their Bar Mitzvah approached, the twins prepared to read parshat Bo, the Torah portion in which tefillin is first mentioned. Moved by that connection, their mother – Asher’s granddaughter – sought to mark the occasion by donating new sets of tefillin to boys in need. She chose Boys Town Jerusalem.
Walking in their great-grandfather’s path
“We depend on generous supporters to help provide new, quality tefillin to our many students from impoverished homes,” noted Rabbi Daniel Loew. “It’s so inspiring that Asher and Lior are walking in their great grandfather’s path by giving tefillin to BTJ students.”