Gil Caplan, a seventh grader at AMIT Gwen Straus Science Jr. and Sr. High School, Kfar Batya, and his sister Noa, who is a year younger and a sixth grader at AMIT Noam Elementary School, Kfar Batya, recently celebrated their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs together. To mark the occasion, the two decided to donate all the gifts they received to a good cause.
Gil and Noga chose to use their gift money to purchase a motorcycle for a paramedic from the United Hatzala of Israel Organization, a volunteer organization that coordinates life-saving emergency medical personnel from across the country. The purpose of the organization is to provide medical care to the patient or injured person before the arrival of an ambulance. In a medical emergency, United Hatzala’s call center can send the closest medics, paramedics and doctors to the scene.
The Caplan family organized a festive pancake breakfast for Gil’s class, during which the motorcycle was presented to the medic who will use it in a moving ceremony. The medic reminded the students that “Whoever saves one life, it is as if he saved the entire world.”
“My sister and I chose to donate our Bar and Bat Mitzvah money to Hatzala because we feel it is more important to help others, especially those who need help, than to have a big party for ourselves,” explained Gil Caplan. Noa Caplan added: “We wanted to do something that would be effective over time and would help as many people as possible.”
Rabbi Sagi Rosenbaum, principal of AMIT Gwen Straus, was grateful that the school was involved in the chesed. “We thank Gil, Noa and their family who shared the joy of a real mitzvah – giving to others from the heart,” said Rabbi Rosenbaum.
