Yesterday (Monday), the 5th and 6th graders arrived in Soroka and presented the fruits of their labors - three television sets and a DVD player - for the benefit of the children hospitalized there.
The sold candies were amassed, as they are in Jewish communities all over the world, during festive Bar Mitzvah services. The custom has long been for worshippers, mainly in the women's section, to throw candies at the Bar Mitzvah boy when he concludes his first public Torah blessing or reading; children then scramble around after them. The event is accompanied by joyous singing by the congregation and blessings to the parents and the new Bar Mitzvah boy.
Moshe Weitz, 12, realized one day last year that his collection of candies was growing out of hand. "I suddenly had an idea," he said, "that I could sell my huge stock of candies and donate the money to something. That was the idea that my friends and I turned into 'Operation Candies.'"
"We told all our friends about our idea," Moshe continued his description of the first year's operation, "and we collected many more candies. We sold them door-to-door and collected 250 shekels. When we met with the Director of Soroka, Dr. Chai-Am, and told him that we wanted to donate the money to Soroka, we felt happy that we were could really help the children there in some way. Some time later, a friend of mine was hospitalized there with a leg infection. We went to visit him, played in the children's room, and enjoyed the games, and later I realized that the games we played with were likely bought with the money we collected. We saw how happy it made the children, and we decided that we would do it again - Operation Candies 2."
This time, the operation was bigger:
"We organized it differently and on a larger scale. We announced the beginning of the operation, and we asked all the children of the school to bring us their candies. We were able to collect 2,728 candies, and we decided to sell them on Election Day. We placed them in bags and set up stands near each polling station, with a sign saying, 'For the children of Soroka.'
"Before we started counting the money, we thought maybe we would reach 400 shekels, which would also be a nice amount. But when we began counting, we saw that there was just no end. We passed 500 shekels, then 700, then 1,000, and 1,500, until we finally reached 1,865 shekels. We just couldn't believe that we had collected that amount."
Moshe said that this time, the children themselves wanted to buy the present. "The next day, my mother called the hospital, and they said that they could really use 2 14-inch TV sets. So we bought three, and then with the money left over we also added a DVD. That's the whole story... but I don't think it will end with just three television sets."
The Soroka Medical Center will also celebrate, next week, the introduction of a new Torah Scroll into its synagogue, in the name of the famed Talmudic sage Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess. Both the scroll and 2-year-old synagogue - considered one of the most beautiful in all of Be'er Sheva - are gifts of the Shimon and Ruti Gozlan family.
The sold candies were amassed, as they are in Jewish communities all over the world, during festive Bar Mitzvah services. The custom has long been for worshippers, mainly in the women's section, to throw candies at the Bar Mitzvah boy when he concludes his first public Torah blessing or reading; children then scramble around after them. The event is accompanied by joyous singing by the congregation and blessings to the parents and the new Bar Mitzvah boy.
Moshe Weitz, 12, realized one day last year that his collection of candies was growing out of hand. "I suddenly had an idea," he said, "that I could sell my huge stock of candies and donate the money to something. That was the idea that my friends and I turned into 'Operation Candies.'"
"We told all our friends about our idea," Moshe continued his description of the first year's operation, "and we collected many more candies. We sold them door-to-door and collected 250 shekels. When we met with the Director of Soroka, Dr. Chai-Am, and told him that we wanted to donate the money to Soroka, we felt happy that we were could really help the children there in some way. Some time later, a friend of mine was hospitalized there with a leg infection. We went to visit him, played in the children's room, and enjoyed the games, and later I realized that the games we played with were likely bought with the money we collected. We saw how happy it made the children, and we decided that we would do it again - Operation Candies 2."
This time, the operation was bigger:
"We organized it differently and on a larger scale. We announced the beginning of the operation, and we asked all the children of the school to bring us their candies. We were able to collect 2,728 candies, and we decided to sell them on Election Day. We placed them in bags and set up stands near each polling station, with a sign saying, 'For the children of Soroka.'
"Before we started counting the money, we thought maybe we would reach 400 shekels, which would also be a nice amount. But when we began counting, we saw that there was just no end. We passed 500 shekels, then 700, then 1,000, and 1,500, until we finally reached 1,865 shekels. We just couldn't believe that we had collected that amount."
Moshe said that this time, the children themselves wanted to buy the present. "The next day, my mother called the hospital, and they said that they could really use 2 14-inch TV sets. So we bought three, and then with the money left over we also added a DVD. That's the whole story... but I don't think it will end with just three television sets."
The Soroka Medical Center will also celebrate, next week, the introduction of a new Torah Scroll into its synagogue, in the name of the famed Talmudic sage Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess. Both the scroll and 2-year-old synagogue - considered one of the most beautiful in all of Be'er Sheva - are gifts of the Shimon and Ruti Gozlan family.