My name is Miri Kaplan and I love to bake! Last year, in honor of my bat mitzvah, I ran a bake sale raising money for Yad Leah, an organization that sends clothes to Israel for underprivileged families. This past June I had the opportunity to visit a Yad Leah store in קרית ארבע. Yad Leah distributes their clothing in store settings throughout Israel to create a dignified and enjoyable shopping experience.
This was the first time I was going to a Yad Leah store and I was very excited to see what happens to the clothes we send from New Jersey. I went to the store with my mother, father and cousin. When we got off the bulletproof bus in קרית ארבע, a woman was there to pick us up and bring us to the store. At the store, a different woman, named Sara Weiss, started showing us around and explained how the store was set up. On every Erev Rosh Chodesh the store has a special sale where everything in the main store is one שקל, so it was packed!
Mrs. Weiss took us around for a tour. She showed us how the store operates and explained to us its tremendous impact on the communities of קרית ארבע and חברון. Since these communities are isolated and economically challenged, their Yad Leah store helps by providing high-quality clothes at an affordable price and sold in a respectable manner. Additionally, the members of these communities gain morale by knowing that the Jews in America care about them.
After the tour, the women in the store made a ceremony in honor of my bat mitzvah. They honored me with ברכות and gave me a Sefer Tehillim and two other books. After the ceremony we got to work, helping unpack boxes sent by Yad Leah in New Jersey and hanging up the clothing in the appropriate sections—men’s, women’s, and children. It was so cool to see how the clothes that my family and I have sorted and packed up in the warehouse in New Jersey get unpacked and distributed at the store in קרית ארבע.
While we were at the store, Mrs. Weiss introduced us to many people who were shopping there. It was fascinating to meet people who shopped at the store and hear their stories. Most of them were mothers and grandmothers shopping for their children and grandchildren. They explained how much they appreciated the clothes we send to Israel and how thankful they are that the clothes are in such great condition. In honor of my visit to the Yad Leah store, I donated a big bag of JoJo bows and other hair accessories that I had brought from New Jersey. Mrs. Weiss told me how much the young girls love picking out hair accessories at the store. I was excited to bring something that will make other girls happy!
After our amazing experience at the Yad Leah store, we had a tour of חברון with a fabulous tour guide named Tzipi Schlissel who lives in חברון. Our tour ended at מערת המכפלה. I had never been to מערת המכפלה before so it was very meaningful. Overall, the trip was inspiring; I had so much fun! It is so great to see how my bake sale contributed to Yad Leah and helped people get clothing in a dignified way.
This year I am doing another bake sale before the chagim. Check it out: https://bit.ly/2kv1qXs
Please help me support Yad Leah and all their important work!
By Miri Kaplan
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