Believe it or not, it is my deepest hope that the work that Aron has done will be in vain. I hope that no Israeli will ever have need of the bomb shelters Aron is helping to fund.
Aron was eight years old when our family took our first trip to Israel. Other than looking forward to the typical family-bonding-relaxing-schwarma-scarfing vacation, my husband and I had two major goals for the trip. First, we wanted our two boys to feel a personal attachment to Israel. Second, we wanted to implant in our boys the belief that Israel is a place that is safe and welcoming– a place that is important to our family. A place that we make a point of visiting and supporting.
That trip was three years ago. And it was a terrific success. How do I know? Because when bombs started dropping on Israeli cities, when the beautiful and holy sites we visited were threatened by terrorists, when the young soldiers who had been so kind to my boys were asked to risk their own lives to defend the citizens of Israel, Aron understood that he couldn’t sit idly by.
With only a few weeks of summer left before the bell rings on the first day of school, Aron started researching charities that might be the recipient of a mitzvah project. At first, we were focused on supporting the IDF and providing emergency aid for Israel’s citizens. That’s what brought us to the United with Israel website. But when Aron was clicking through, he saw something that affected him in a much different way.
The media reports and pro-Israel speakers spoke of the brief 15 seconds that Israelis had to scramble to their bomb shelters. But in Aron’s mind, once they were sheltered, they were safe. It had never occurred to my son, who had only ever heard a code-red siren on someone’s cell phone, that there were people in Israel without bomb shelters.
He read the page twice, and then he did something he rarely does anymore. He crawled into my lap and starting crying. “This is so scary,” he said. “We can’t let my brother see this, he’ll be too scared.” My sweet boy. He was worried for his little brother. He was scared for the mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters living in Israel. And he was willing to do something about it.
“This is the mitzvah project I’m going to do,” he said through a choked sob. “We have to build bomb shelters in Israel.”
After that, Aron’s mitzvah project began taking a more solid shape. The date for Hot Dogs for Bomb Shelters was set for 10 days from that fateful afternoon. Aron made the phone calls, wrote the emails and even made a public announcement in our synagogue last Shabbat. As a development professional and philanthropic adviser, it was tempting for me to take over at times. Yet I knew in my heart this had to be Aron’s mitzvah. My job was to be part cheering squad, part Bank of Mom, 100% chauffeur.
An Inspiration to Commit to Just Causes around the World
Friends who learned of Aron’s project offered words of support and encouragement, and many stepped up to support the mitzvah. An acquaintance from synagogue told Aron she wanted to donate all the money in her charity box. When we arrived at her home to pick up the contribution, there was a paper bag filled almost to the brim with loose change – clearly years’ worth of accumulated coins dropped into a box just before Shabbat. One friend from southern California sent an email committing $180 to the project. For my 11-year-old, it might as well have been a million. That was the moment, eyes popping out of his head, when he realized exactly what he could accomplish. He could actually make an impact in Israel for other people – people who speak Hebrew and share an important bond with him: the love of Israel and a drive to keep her safe.
Yesterday we went shopping for hot dogs, buns, ketchup, and chips. On Sunday, Aron is hoping to sell 150 lunches to members of our community. He will raise money that will help keep people in Israel safe. Even more important, and I’m sure he can’t really understand this part yet, he will be inspiring people to find a way to commit to just causes around the world.
A week ago, his stated goal was to raise $360. Today he hopes to raise $1000. I – his proud mother – along with his proud father, hope this adventure is the first of many steps our son will take to honor and support the work of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, and to deepen his connection to Am Yisrael, the People of Israel, and Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel.
Believe it or not, it is my deepest hope that the work that Aron has done will be in vain. I hope that no Israeli will ever have need of the bomb shelters Aron is helping to fund. That peace will find its way into the region, so that when Aron one day takes his own children to Israel, he can look forward to a typical family-bonding-relaxing-schwarma-scarfing vacation. But between now and then we have hot dogs for sale and an 11-year-old boy who would really appreciate having your support in making his mitzvah project an outrageous success.
Since I was unable to leave my development professional hat in the closet completely, you can make a donation to Aron’s project by visiting the website of the Jewish Community Foundation of the West (www.jcfwest.org/donation) and naming “Hot Dogs for Bomb Shelters” as the account name.
Now I’ll go back to being chauffeur. And very proud mother.
