As the tears flooded my eyes, I felt the greatest pride in our Jewish People and in the Bar Mitzvah "boy," 83 years old, chanting his Haftorah for the first time in a life interrupted by Nazi atrocities.

Sol Laufer never had this sacred rite of passage in a Shul at the age of 13; but seven decades later, he represented every Jew, proclaiming "that the Nazis did not destroy me or my people. Did not destroy my spirit, my self-esteem, or my Faith."

A Holocaust Survivor is special. I learned that first-hand from my Dad. "Nothing is usual for" them, as Sol puts it. His entire family perished in the Nazi death grip, but here he stood, handsome and strong, before me as a living witness to the worst of mankind's malice and the best of Divine beneficence. Surrounded by his large, loving family, Sol is testament to the love of G-d for His beloved People.

Sol is also testament to the love of a husband for his wife, Sadie, who made Sol's Bar Mitzvah at Chabad of Sarasota a holy mission for herself. Mission accomplished, Sadie and Sol!