Rabbi Metzger and the Bar Mitzvah kids
Photo: Zeev Trachtman
Eden Gabay. Feels great
Photo: Zeev Trachtman
Sderot kids celebrate Bar Mitzvah with IAF
Hundreds of soldiers, officers take part in mass ceremony in rocket-battered city with Israel's chief rabbi
Israel Air Force raids Sderot, bringing a smile to Bar Mitzvah kids face. Hundreds of officers, soldiers and non-commissioned officers arrived Sunday at the rocket-battered city as part of a show of solidarity with the southern town's residents and an effort to increase the public's trust in the IDF.
As part of their activity in Sderot, the military men were divided into teams. Some painted homes of elderly residents, while others held Purim activities at kindergartens and nurseries, which included gifts, holiday activities and singsong.
Israel's Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger took part in the ceremony at the end of the day, saying that "there has yet to be such a Bar Mitzvah of hundreds of officers and soldiers in Israel."
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The day ended at a local synagogue, where a Bar Mitzvah ceremony was held for about 50 of the town's children.
'After school, join the army'
Rabbi Metzger turned to the army men, saying, "From now on you can be called the whitewashers and the handymen.
"I am overwhelmed by the Air Force soldiers' spirit of giving. You have done something to make the Jews in the city happy already at the beginning of the week, rather than wait for the weekend. You have proved that your heart is sweet not only on the security-military side," he added.
The chief rabbi turned to the Bar Mitzvah kids and asked them to "be on the giving side when you grow up… May God fulfill all your wishes."
Brigadier-General Yaacov Bortman, commander of the IAF's equipment group, said during the ceremony, "This act of volunteering comes to show that the people of Israel are one people. The situation (in Sderot) is complicated. As a person in uniform and as an Israeli citizen, value what you do.
"The people of Israel have lived by the sword for years. We have had a war against Iran since ancient times, and this war continues. Day after day we try to partially reduce the Qassam fire, but we will do anything in order to reduce it to the minimum," he added.
Hinting to the Bar Mitzvah boys' military future, he said, "Finish your studies, go on and take the torch forward. I want you to remember this evening, the many people who came here to accompany you."
Eden Gabay, one of the children who celebrated their Bar Mitzvah, told Ynet, "I think this is a nice initiative, organizing a special Bar Mitzvah. You see people from our army who find it important to make us happy. It feels great."
