* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin ([email protected])
The news is difficult and challenging. Many are unsure about how they should celebrate happy occasions at this time. The Yarchi family decided simply to share their celebration with a family from the Gaza periphery. Shira Yarchi, the mother, wrote me as follows:
“We live in Talmon. Our son Amitai was having his Bar Mitzvah and we were looking for a way to give the occasion a sense of greater meaning, connectedness, and unity. We located a family from Kibbutz Magen that is presently staying in a hotel by the Dead Sea. They too were celebrating a Bar Mitzvah, albeit under unexpected circumstances, and we decided to celebrate together.
We traveled to the Dead Sea for a visit, we got to know the family and their darling Bar Mitzvah boy, Yuval. Our families quickly became friends and toured the area. On Friday the two boys arrived at my father’s synagogue in Ra’anana and put on tefillin together.
Thanks to Ma’ayan and Itay Levin, the kibbutzniks who were our partners in a one-of-a-kind experience.”
And Ma’ayan Levin from Kibbutz Magen added: Ever since the start of the war we have not been home. We went along with this surprising idea, and we discovered the boys had so much in common. They put on tefillin together and the entire event simply warmed our hearts.”
Mazal tov, Amitai and Yuval. Your first mitzvah was performed together, in a special partnership. Welcome, as men, into the nation of Israel.
