It was so beautiful
Teaneck youth helps Israeli boys celebrate b’nai mitzvah
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Print | The whole bar mitzvah party at the Western Wall. Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky is holding the banner on the far left. |
At his bar mitzvah at Cong. Keter Torah in February, Teaneck resident Daniel Raykher announced that he’d use a portion of his gift money to sponsor bar mitzvahs for disadvantaged boys in Israel.
True to his word — and with lots of help from his parents and Bris Avrohom executive director Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky — Daniel and his family traveled to Israel this summer to join 13 young men at the festive occasion.
Summer Bar/Bat Mitzvah“You had to see Daniel and his father dancing with the bar mitzvah boys,” said Kanelsky, who was there with his wife, Shterney, for the religious service at the Western Wall in Jerusalem July 2. The night before, there had been a massive party, complete with a dinner and band, in Beersheba.
Daniel’s father, Greg, is a board member of Bris Avrohom, the Hillside-based Chabad organization serving immigrants from the former Soviet Union. An active Bris Avrohom chapter also functions in Fair Lawn.
From the time he was a toddler, Daniel has accompanied his parents to Bris Avrohom’s annual group wedding for Russian Jewish couples who previously had only a civil union.
 | Daniel Raykher, left, and his brother Zachary (on Greg Raykher’s shoulders) celebrate with bar mitzvah boys in Israel from the former Soviet Union. At right is Beersheba Chabad’s Rabbi Zalman Gorelik. Photos courtesy of Bris Avrohom |
“That’s where he got the idea for the group bar mitzvah,” said Greg Raykher, a native of Russia. “Rabbi Kanelsky inspired him and led the way.”
The family decided to focus on Beersheba because it is not far from the rocket-barraged town of Sderot, and it has a large Russian immigrant population.
Kanelsky identified appropriate young men with the help of Beersheba Chabad Rabbi Zalman Gorelik and other local leaders. Daniel, a Yavneh Academy eighth-grader, contributed enough money to sponsor seven boys. Kanelsky found individual donors to include six more. The thousands of contributed dollars paid for bar mitzvah lessons and meaningful gifts in addition to the party.
“Rabbi Gorelik made everything possible, and we paid all the bills,” said Kanelsky.
Each family received books on Judaism, a pair of candlesticks, and a kiddush cup. The boys got tefillin and the fathers received prayer shawls.
But not all the boys had parents present.
“There was a whole gamut of situations,” said Daniel’s father. “Some of the kids had already had a party, but not a religious service. Others would not have had either, including some living in foster homes. It was a tremendous highlight for them.”
Each boy was called up to the Torah, and several had studied enough to be able to read from it. “It was so beautiful,” said Kanelsky.
Daniel interacted with all the boys, speaking with them in a mix of Hebrew and English. “It was good for him to see how other kids live and to feel a sense of responsibility for people in Israel,” said his father.
The entire Raykher family came along, including Daniel’s mother Daphna, sisters Abigail, 11, and Zoe, 7, and brother Zachary, 5 1/2.
“This was not really about us,” Greg Raykher stressed. “We made it clear that a portion of Daniel’s gifts would go to this, but at the end of the day it was our guests who made this possible.”
Kanelsky hopes to make the event an annual affair.
Flag CommentSo wonderful to have read about this!! I live in a town with a large Russian-speaking population; and so many of them have very little knowledge of Judaism and Jewish history. I teach many of them at our school for English. Kol HaKavod to Daniel who enabled these boys to have their Bar Mitzvah!
I find it offensive , that wealthy people that have these enormous affairs (Bar Mitzvot) costing enough to feed 100 families in Israel for a year, decide to give ‘Tzedakah’ from the “gifts” to the poor, suffering, Moishey, the Bar Mitvah kid in America. (His gifts were probably enormous in terms of financial reward to a boy who had enough .)
IF, wishful thinking, they had opted for a small party with only the immediate family, they may have given another 100 boys a decent, modest Bar Mitvah in Israel. Add to this the fare for this large family,their hotels and food, perhaps they could have added another 30 boys to the list of needy boys who did not have funds for a Bar mitvah at all..
(sorry if this is belated, but on sending my story of the poor Beanies to my accountant today, (which has never been reimbursed,) and thinking about my my own son not receiving more receive more than a few hundred dollars in gifts from a really small party, this kind of thing really makes me furious.
It is no big mitvah if one has alot of money, to do deeds like this…. its water of the duck’s back.
What is all the praise and hullabaloo about anyway??????
To the lady who wrote that she “finds it offensive.”
First of all, this family is from Chabad and I doubt very much that they hold lavish Bar Mitzvahs. I’m sure it was a very spiritual and meaningful moment in his life. I’m sorry that your son received ‘only’ a few hundred dollars. Even your son could have given a portion of that money to tzedekah. After all, it isn’t the money that’s important…...is it????
My son used all of his money to send Beanie Babies to Israel last August. Despite all the help from Emek Hospital, the Jewish Agency, the writer who reported on this for the Standard, we had no standing ovation.
We had a very very small Chabad-less affair, with less than 50 people. We had no money at the time to go to the Kotel. My son is Israeli as are his two brothers, all adopted and Israeli
His father, my husband is deceased as are my parents.
It was spiritual and beautiful anyway. Money as gifts did not enter into the entire Bar Mitvah.
If you will go back some weeks, you will find the story of the Beanie Babies in the Standard.
Other than what we used to send this gift and the postage for all the cartons of stuffed toys, they sit in customs and are not permitted to go further.
It was meant well.
Do you mean they are sitting in customs in the U.S.?? What is the problem with getting them out??
Read the article by Abigail Leichman which details most of this story. Or contact Larry rich at Emek Medical Center in Afula Israel for more details.
If you want to help, contact the Jewish Agency in Israel or here,.They are familiar with the sad story.
The toys are being held in customs in Afula Israel after many many people have interceded to get them through to the hospital childrens’ ward where they were destined.
We are talking about approxiately 800 Beanie Babies…small stuffed animals…. mostly collected.
I don’t know what I can do; but I will try to call this Larry Rich you mentioned at Emek Medical Center. But what is the problem? Why can’t they be released? Is it a security problem?
as far as I know there is nothing really wrong… it is an imaginary problem… considering all the people who were involved for 6 months to release the 6 out 8 cartons of toys.
Read the story. You will understand better how many problems were created in Israel .
