Bar mitzvah boy’s generous gift

A 12-year-old Australian boy has raised $4000 to fund the bar mitzvah celebration of a boy at Boys Town Jerusalem, through the school’s Barmitzvah Twinning Program.

The Australian boy, Caleb, was connected through the program with Uriel, a 12-year-old student at the Jerusalem school, as he prepared for his own bar mitzvah.

Caleb set himself the challenge of completing 13 sponsored “long walks” in honour of his bar mitzvah. Friends and family followed his progress as he shared updates from walks around Australia and during a family trip to Italy. By the time he completed the challenge, Caleb had raised almost twice his original goal.

The funds paid for Uriel’s bar mitzvah celebration, which his family could not otherwise afford.

Uriel moved to Israel from South America with his parents this year. The family has no relatives in Israel and is in severe financial hardship.

On arriving at Boys Town Jerusalem, Uriel was starting at a new school in a new country, learning Hebrew and making new friends. He was supported in settling in by his teacher, Rabbi Yosef Chaim, who speaks Spanish.

At Uriel’s bar mitzvah, his parents were his only family guests. His classmates filled the Boys Town Jerusalem synagogue as he was called to the Torah.

The group then celebrated with a breakfast and bar mitzvah cake before an outing to a Jerusalem sports centre, all funded by Caleb’s fundraising.

Boys Town Jerusalem provides education and support to boys from disadvantaged backgrounds, many from families struggling to meet basic needs.

Its twinning program allows bar mitzvah boys in Australia and elsewhere to fund the celebration of a Boys Town Jerusalem student.

“The distance between Australia and Jerusalem disappeared, as two very special bar mitzvah boys celebrated the invaluable gift of caring,” Boys Town Jerusalem principal Rabbi Yehudah Rosencrantz said.

For more information about the Barmitzvah Twinning Program visit boystownjerusalem.org/bar-mitzvah-program.