Sixty-seven years after his 13th birthday, Larry Feinstein decided that it was finally time to have a Bar Mitzvah. It was an e-mail from ALEH, Israel’s largest network of residential facilities for children with severe physical and cognitive disabilities, that inspired 80-year old Feinstein to go through with the transformative Jewish ritual.
The e-mail he received described the many ways an individual can assist ALEH in its important work, among them the organization’s Bar Mitzvah twinning program. The program pairs Bar Mitzvah boys from around the world with a child in one of ALEH’s four residential facilities who is also becoming Bar Mitzvah – their “twin” – and arranges a joint celebration in Israel. Those who cannot commit to a trip overseas can simply sponsor their twin’s celebration. In either case, the program affords ALEH’s children an opportunity they would not have had otherwise.
Feinstein, a father of three from Flint, Michigan, took his first trip to Israel last November with a Jewish Federation mission. When Feinstein found out that his brother, Don, would be volunteering for the IDF through Sarel this winter, he decided to return to Israel so the two could explore the country together. With his bags already packed for a sibling adventure in the Holy Land, Feinstein decided that the timing was perfect for a Bar Mitzvah celebration.
Read More: @ israelnationalnews.com
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