On the eve of the holiday of Sukkos, the students of the “Beit LeBanim” boys’ boarding school of the Jewish Community of Dnipro received a special gift from the international children’s camp “Gan Israel Yeka” and the “Yudaica” store – sets of the four species, necessary for fulfilling one of the most important mitzvos of the holiday.
The lulavim and esrogim were handed to the boys on behalf of the camp by their beloved counselors, with whom many of the boarding school’s students spent this summer at “Gan Israel Yeka Summer-86.” The summer session of this international camp took place in Bukovina, in the Chernivtsi region, and brought together 130 boys from various regions of Ukraine and a number of other countries, with about fifty participants representing the Jewish Community of Dnipro. The group from Dnipro was accompanied by Rabbi David Vaskovsky and his wife Liora, who also served as camp administrators.
The presentation of the gifts became a continuation of the connection between the counselors of “Gan Israel Yeka” and the boys after the conclusion of the summer session, and gave the students of “Beit LeBanim” the opportunity to independently fulfill the mitzvah of “arba minim” – the mitzvah of the four species – during the days of Sukkos. These include the esrog, lulav, hadas, and aravah, which are joined together for the fulfillment of the special mitzvah of the holiday; in Jewish tradition, the four species also symbolize the unity of the Jewish people.
But it is especially important that the sets received are intended not only for personal fulfillment of the mitzvah. Throughout the festive days, the boys will be able to participate in mivtzoim – helping other Jews fulfill the mitzvah of the four species, thereby transforming the gift they received into an opportunity to themselves carry Jewish tradition and the light of mitzvos to other people.
“It is very important for our students not only to know and observe Jewish traditions themselves, but also to feel responsibility for another Jew, to help him fulfill a mitzvah, and it is precisely such an opportunity that these wonderful gifts for Sukkos give the boys,” noted Rabbi David Vaskovsky, director of the “Beit LeBanim” boys’ boarding school. “We sincerely thank our dear counselors of the ‘Gan Israel Yeka’ camp, the ‘Yudaica’ store, and everyone who helped bring this wonderful initiative to life – and above all, the united and cohesive Jewish Community of Dnipro under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
