HAIMKE, GRANDMA’ S GRANDSON
If the story we are presenting to you were a staged play, for sure most of the spectators, would have blurred eyes and flushed faces, because the director had over done his heartrending accounts. Well no: This story is completely true, not one ounce of exaggeration or of inflated facts, just the plain and simple truth. Please read and let your heart quiver….
Our story is about a young boy named Haim – Haimke, who was born in the Central Region of Israel, and he is the third generation to a needy family.
Haimke, the last of his five brothers and sisters, was born with a severe brain damage. When the parents received the terrible news about their newborn son, they felt like their whole world had fallen into pieces. The father, who could not cope with the burden, abandoned his family and left. The Mother remained alone to fend for herself, for the injured Haimke, and for his five brothers and sisters.
Because of needy housing and up-keep conditions, the Mother collapsed and could not hold to her children, and two of them were transferred to social services for adoption.
The Mother remained with four children, the youngest of them being our Haimke. She would not give up on him and have him transferred to adoption or to any institution for such cases, and this from the knowledge and the deep feeling that Haimke needed her. Thus, despite all the hardships, she devoted herself to him with all her heart and all her might.
A needy home is but a faint definition of the humiliating living conditions, where this desolate and unfortunate family dwells. The Amidar Company [Amidar is supposed to provide lodgings for poor, immigrants, etc.] has provided for them some kind of transformed-into-a-flat basement, which is in fact the shelter of some apartments building. And if that was not enough three families have to share this basement, families related to Haimke’s, and just as needy. So, in that basement cum shelter, three families are living under subhuman conditions.
One related family is Haimke’s uncle, who suffers from 90% blindness; the second one is Haimke’s aunt and her three children, all of whom have mental disabilities. His elderly grandmother she too lives with them, and her heart bleeds at seeing the future generation, her sons and daughters and grandchildren, all living in these dreadful conditions, and there is naught she can do to help.
A year ago, representatives from “THE HASDEI NAOMI” ORGANIZATION, who had been and are still accompanying these families, were called urgently to the grandmother. In her last will and testament, the grandmother had only one request to the volunteers of “THE HASDEI NAOMI” ORGANIZATION:
“Please see to it, that my grandson Haimke has his Bar Mitzvah ritual ceremony at the Western Wall, the remainder of our Great Temple in Jerusalem, and please make sure he has an elegant talit and the finest tephillin [phylacteries, which Jewish men don every weekday from the 13th birthday onwards].”
Then the grandmother passed away.
The date of the Bar Mitzvah, Haimke’s 13th birthday, was arriving quickly.
Members from “THE HASDEI NAOMI” ORGANIZATION had arranged for a bus to bring the members of his family and Haimke himself to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. During the journey, the volunteers sang and brought joy and happiness to all the participants in general and especially to the excited guest of honor Haimke.
The Torah Scroll is taken out of the Ark, and presented on Haimke’ s laps, since he is confined to a wheeling chair and cannot hold it in his arms. However, Haimke smiles a wide merry smile and he utters screams and sounds of jubilation. He cannot speak or communicate but everybody can see and feel the amazing felicity of the guest of honour, the Bar Mitzvah Boy.
The Chairman of “THE HASDEI NAOMI” ORGANIZATION, Rabbi Yossef Cohen dons the tephillin on Haimke’ s hand and head for the first time of the 13 y. o. boy’s life. Rabbi Cohen, who cannot hide his red face and red eyes from this moving event, says that he feels the same
joy as though his own son was the Bar Mitzvah Boy. All the other participants, guests and prayers, who just happened to be there near the Western Wall, every one cries from joy and emotion. Sweets are thrown on Haimke [traditional gesture to impress that from now on the 13 y.o. boy’s life will be sweet] and all eyes are red, quite red with tears of overflowing emotions.
The Illustrious Rabbi, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz Shlita, the Western Wall Rabbi, approaches too the Bar Mitzvah Boy and places a kiss on Haimke’ s brow, showers him with blessings for him and for all his family. A Hassidic Singer from abroad, who happened to be there at the Western Wall, joined in to bring joy to Haimke. An orchestra, with musicians playing on authentic instruments, played all the time in the background and scores of persons praying at the Wall joined in the dancing.
The joy and happiness burst from all corners and overflow all and sundry and lasted well over one more hour. From there the “THE HASDEI NAOMI” ORGANIZATION volunteers took the Bar Mitzvah Boy and his family and they went to a banquet hall, where a cheerful and momentous meal was served in honor of the ceremony.
The happy event came to a close. All the participants went back each one to his or her home, filled with emotions and excitement. At home, a wonderful surprise waited for Haimke on his return from Jerusalem, a sweet dream he had dreamt at night. “THE HASDEI NAOMI” ORGANIZATION volunteers bought a brand new bed especially built to suit the needs and disability from which our dear Haimke suffers. And he was delighted, you could see it on his face.
As sad, as it sounds, up until this very moment, Haimke’s large family or the three families, all live together in the same building basement – shelter. They are not working because none of them is able to do any work. Almost every month either the water or the electricity is cut off and this has become part of the day-to-day reality. Clothes or anything else, which is not food, is considered as luxuries and out of boundaries, all their livelihood depends on the National Insurance meager pensions and on the boundless charity of “THE HASDEI NAOMI” ORGANIZATION.
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For the doubtful and cynics, full details of the above are available at “THE HASDEI NAOMI” ORGANIZATION offices.