Tani’s Bar Mitzvah Central
Dear Beloved Family and Friends,
We have made the difficult decision to cancel Tani's Bar Mitzvah celebration for March 21, out an abundance of caution around preventing the spread of the Coronavirus. The community aspect of a Bar Mitzvah, bringing together people we love from many places and many parts of our lives, has the potential to contribute to the spread of the virus. At this particular moment in time, we feel that the responsible decision is not to gather in person.
A core component of a Bar Mitzvah is surrounding a child and their family with love during the challenging, yet exhilarating transition into young adulthood, and we feel your love and send you our love. We will explore possibly hosting a celebration this summer, if appropriate. We are grateful to have celebrated Tani's coming of age back in January, on the first Shabbat that he was 13, which included reading Torah for the first time.
With prayers for well-being and with gratitude for your presence in our lives,
Malkah Binah and Neysa
Gifts and Donations
Your loving presence in our lives is your gift. Tani encourages you to make a donation to the Global United Vision Organization (see below). Gifts are not expected. If it feels important to give a gift to Tani, a good book or funds towards his art and tech projects or education are most appreciated.
Gift of Sight
In honor of his Bar Mitzvah, Tani is encouraging friends and family to donate funds for a new initiative in our neighborhood to offer free eye exams and glasses to people who can’t afford them.
Tani is very appreciative for the glasses that help him see (he is pictured here with his new glasses). His wonderful optometrist, Dr. Kennard Herring, is creating the Gift of Sight program. Dr. Herring recently hosted an at-capacity eye clinic over MLK weekend offering free exams and glasses and is planning to host such clinics in his shop, Nostalgic Eye Care, on a regular basis.
Online donations can be made through this website: https://globalunitedvision.org (Note that this is a brand new initiative; the website will be further developed in the coming months).
A check can also be mailed to:
Global United Vision Organization c/o Nostalgic Eye Care 6656 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19119
Thank you!
Gratitude
Planning this Bar Mitzvah celebration has been an opportunity to get in touch with all the ways we have been supported in bringing Tani into the world and raising him to become a mensch, a young man who is loving, confident, curious, and creative.