A Mitzvah in Suriname!

Louise Spergel wrote to Kulanu to tell us that her son, Zachary Spergel, wrote an article about his recent trip to Suriname, where he celebrated his Bar Mitzvah with “the oldest Jewish community in the Americas”. He brought along kippot to give to the community members, and is also encouraging his own community to support the Suriname community with donations to Kulanu, Inc. Check out Zachary’s story, below, which was published in his synagogue’s news bulletin, Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim – click here to open it as a PDF and find his story with photos on page three.

MITZVAH PROJECT
For my Bar Mitzvah project I brought kippot to Suriname. Suriname is a country located in the Northern part of South America. Their Jewish community dates back to around 1600. The Jewish community in Suriname is the oldest still existing Jewish community in the Americas. The Jews there are mostly decedents of Jews who fled the Spanish inquisition. Some of the Jewish families have been there over 300 years. Now their population is dwindling. They are now isolated and have difficulty getting Jewish supplies. I raised money and purchased kippot, which I brought to their synagogue. They continue to need money to maintain their historic wooden synagogue and preserve their rich Jewish history.

I would like to thank everyone who donated to help their community. If you would still like to donate, log in to: www.kulanu.org/donate and in the “Additional Information” section, please write that the donation is for the Suriname Jewish Community.
–Zachary Spergel

MAZAL TOV to Zachary on his Bar Mitzvah! And TODAH RABAH to Zachary and his family for supporting a far-away Jewish community as part of this special life-cycle celebration.

Find out how YOU can share your special occasion with Kulanu and with Jews around the world at www.kulanu.org/mitzvahprojects!