Once school dismisses at the Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, Abraham “Abi” Zablow can often be found most afternoons outside the Giant Eagle in Squirrel Hill, helping others connect with the Jewish faith he has recently come to embrace.
From a stand outside the Murray Avenue store, Abraham, 15, helps those in the Jewish community put on a tefillin, a small set of leather boxes and straps containing verses from the Torah symbolizing commitment and connection to the faith. Tefflin is worn by Jewish men and boys over the age of 13 during morning prayers.
After attending a Jewish kids camp in North Carolina over the summer, Abraham decided to commit to his faith, and his mission now is helping others do the same. He’s gearing up to celebrate his first Purim as an observant Jew, a holiday which begins Thursday at sundown and celebrates the survival of the Jews after a threatened massacre in Persia in the 5th century BCE
“I’m definitely excited for Purim,” Abraham said. “It’s my first year actually celebrating it religiously.”
Each year, the festival of Purim is celebrated on the 14th day of the second month of the Hebrew calendar, often falling in February or March.
Others have taken notice of Abraham’s newfound devotion to his faith and the movement he began to connect other Jews. He was honored in New York City’s Times Square last week at the world’s largest Jewish teen summit — the CTeen Shabbaton — where he was given a pair of tefillin in recognition of the work he has done to spark Jewish pride.
"When a teen like Abi shares his personal story with thousands of peers, the impact is exponential," said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, chairman of CTeen International at Chabad world headquarters. "Hearing from someone their own age, who understands their challenges, carries a power no adult could match.”
Rabbi Yitzi Goldwasser, director of the Chabad of Greenfield, meets with Abraham to discuss their faith regularly, and said the teen’s initiative to spread his faith in many ways exemplifies the message of Purim.
“Just like Abi, a big part of Purim is not just celebrating by ourselves, but making sure everyone else is able to celebrate as well,” Rabbi Goldwasser said. He said Abraham’s newfound excitement for his faith has noticeably rubbed off on other teenagers around him, some of whom have joined him outside the Giant Eagle.
“Being a teen nowadays is so hard…some of them are afraid and some of them want to shy away [from their faith] to escape the drama,” Rabbi Goldwasser said. “But then when you have teens like Abi, not older rabbis or people, but their own friends that are jumping up like ‘we’re going to show everyone how proud we are.’ It really means a lot to them.”
Although the next two days are a celebration for the Jewish community, Abraham said he plans to keep embracing and honoring his faith by wrapping others in tefillin long after Purim ends.
“I’m not stopping anytime soon,” he said.
First Published: March 13, 2025, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: March 13, 2025, 12:33 p.m.
