A special award ceremony took place in Dnipro to honor the winners of the “Bar/Bat Mitzvah Upgrade” program, organized by the Enerjew youth initiative with the support of the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU).
Out of seven local participants in the Dnipro branch of the program, four reached the final stage and received valuable gifts — those who had attended all sessions and demonstrated a high level of preparation for their upcoming Jewish coming-of-age. Two of the winners were able to attend a special Shabbaton in one of Ukraine’s western regions (our website will cover that event soon), while two boys — Binyamin Cherkassky and David Kalashnyk — were invited, together with their parents, to meet with the Chief Rabbi of Dnipro and the region, Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, who personally presented them with their prizes.
Rabbi Kaminezki warmly congratulated Binyamin and David on successfully completing the three-month preparation course and expressed his confidence that the boys will grow up to be proud and active members of the Dnipro Jewish community, taking part in its projects and, in due time, coming to Torah, Chuppah, and good deeds. In a festive atmosphere, the Chief Rabbi presented the boys with valuable gifts — tefillin, a siddur, and tzedakah — to help them fulfill mitzvot after their Bar Mitzvah.
In return, the boys sincerely thanked Rabbi Kaminezki and the Dnipro Jewish community for the opportunity to receive quality Jewish education and moral guidance, for the care shown to every Jew, and for the joy of being part of the community’s meaningful programs.
