Natan was looking forward to celebrating his bar mitzvah when tragedy struck his family. Four months before the celebration, his mother was in a terrible car accident that took her life. While the family was still grieving, the date of Natan’s bar mitzvah was inching closer. His father was not in a position—emotionally or financially—to begin planning a simcha for his son. So generous neighbors and friends in their community got together and organized the entire event. They found volunteers to run it,from the photographer to the DJ to the catering.
One of the individuals behind Natan’s bar mitzvah celebration was Eliyahu Kanush, a resident of the village of Tekoa in Gush Etzion, who made aliyah from San Francisco 20 years ago. After arriving in Israel, Kanush asked himself how he could use his career as a musician, emcee and summer camp director to benefit Israeli society. Together with his wife Rivkah Adinah, he founded a company called Holy Simchas to bring what he calls “American style bar and bat mitzvah entertainment” to Israel. He acts as both the emcee and DJ at these celebrations.
In 2017 he received a phone call from a client about the tragedy that befell Natan and his family. After Kanush helped organize the bar mitzvah celebration for Natan, which included emceeing the event, he began receiving more requests from other family members of bereaved children to help plan their simcha. He also reached out to social workers around Gush Etzion—focusing on his own community—to publicize his services to those in need. He was shocked by the number of requests that began to flow in. “There are a lot of single-parent families and they need a lot of extra help,” Kanush said. This includes children who lost a parent as a result of a terror attack.
Kanush received so many requests for help organizing events that he could no longer say yes to everybody. So he decided to start a special initiative, which he called “Holy Simchas Chesed Project,” dedicated solely to raising funds for bar and bat mitzvah celebrations for bereaved children. Kanush explained that many organizations help hungry families to put food on their table or couples who cannot afford a wedding celebration. But there were no initiatives dedicated to planning bar and bat mitzvah celebrations for bereaved children.
“The goal is that there won’t be any children missing out on this [experience],” Kanush said. After a social worker or family member calls the chesed project, Kanush and his group of volunteers begin planning the event, which includes finding a photographer, caterer and DJ or musician who will volunteer their services. If Kanush is not available to serve as the DJ and emcee, he will recruit another musician.
It costs approximately 10,000 shekels—or 3,000 dollars—to sponsor a bar or bat mitzvah celebration. Realizing the importance of this project and the great need that exists, two months ago The Gush Etzion Foundation officially adopted this project and created a page where individuals can make a donation in shekel or dollar currency. Kanush also offers bar and bat mitzvah youth who are not in financially challenging situations to donate a portion of their gifts towards this fund, to help other children who are in less fortunate circumstances. He further offers them opportunities to volunteer at the bar and bat mitzvah celebrations of bereaved children. His immediate goal is that every bereaved child in Gush Etzion will receive the gift of a bar or bat mitzvah celebration at no cost. Kanush is already working on steps to expand this project beyond Gush Etzion.
“We think ‘what’s the big deal, it’s one night, it’s one day of the person’s life,’” Kanush said. “It’s more. The goal is to impart to somebody that you matter, and that leaves a lasting imprint on that person’s sense of self and what they are going to go on and do after that. It’s very fulfilling.”
Natan would agree with this. Six years later, he still looks back fondly at his bar mitzvah celebration. “I really had the happiest day of my life that day,” he said.
For more information or to get involved visit https://gush-etzion.org.il/project/bar-bat-mitzvah-celebrations-for-orphans/
Alisa Bodner is a Fair Lawn native who immigrated to Israel a decade ago. She is a nonprofit management professional who enjoys writing in her free time.
