The Holocaust
The Tefillin That Survived the Holocaust: Yossi Roth’s Story
A bar mitzvah gift carried through war and loss continues to connect children, grandchildren, and students to Jewish tradition
(Photo: Shutterstock)
“Yossi Roth never spoke to anyone about what he endured during the war. Whenever he was asked, he would simply say, ‘It’s not important,’ and insist on focusing on the present and on life,” shares journalist Rafael Levi of Arutz 7.
“Yossi, my wife Yaara’s grandfather, was born in Hungary in 1923. When the war broke out, he was just 16 years old. He was moved from one labor camp to another, and later forced on a death march. Through it all, he clung to one possession: the tefillin he had received for his bar mitzvah. They were large, beautifully crafted tefillin, kept in a blue pouch embroidered with a golden Star of David. Alongside them, he also carried a photograph of his family.”
Prayer Amid Horror
His daughter Rachel recalls that her father never missed a single day of prayer. Each morning, no matter the circumstances, he put on his tefillin and prayed Shacharit.
When the war ended, Yossi returned to his hometown of Miskolc, Hungary, hoping against hope to be reunited with his family. There he met his older brother, Aharon — but also learned the devastating truth. His mother and his younger brother, Zvi Hirsch, had been murdered, along with countless members of his extended family of uncles, aunts, and cousins. His father had died years earlier, when Yossi was only 8 years old.
Rebuilding Life in Israel
Yossi and his brother eventually immigrated to Israel, where they built their homes and families. After Yossi’s passing, his treasured tefillin were passed down to his grandson, Idan Barzilai, who continues to use them daily.
Idan explains: “It’s a tremendous privilege to put on these tefillin every day. As a grandson, a father, and a teacher, they help me focus, to remember who I am, where I came from, and what I want to pass on to my children and to my students. The tefillin are a powerful way of transmitting tradition from generation to generation. I believe this was exactly what was so important to Grandpa Yossi — that above all else, this would be what remained.”
