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Simcha GIVING EXPERIENCE
Tyler celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in 2022 at home with family and friends. The back garden was set up as a shule for the Parasha reading, and festivities with dancing, video games and food ensued.
Being grateful and respecting Hashem is a huge lesson taught in my Parasha. In many ways I can connect my life to Parashat Ekev. I have been brought up to understand how grateful and lucky I am to be alive, being a great grandchild of Holocaust survivors. I know many members of my family weren’t as lucky as I am and never had the chance to celebrate their Bar or Bat Mitzvah.
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Tyler often imagined what he would have done when his late zaida, Holocaust survivor Tuvia Lipson, would recount his incredible story of survival. With his great grandparents being survivors, and his great grandmother’s brother Robert murdered one month before he was to be Bar Mitzvah’d, Tyler has become committed to keeping Holocaust memory alive.
For his Bar Mitzvah in 2022, Tyler selflessly requested donations in lieu of gifts to honour Robert and his great grandparents, raising close to $9,000 for the museum.
Tyler’s reading was of Parashat Ekev Ekevis about Moshe delivering his final speech to the Israelites before he dies. During the service, Tyler was surrounded by generations of family members.
With the acknowledgement that not everyone is lucky enough to make it to their Bar Mitzvah, Tyler’s experience was uniquely meaningful, as he took the opportunity to honour people like Robert, and ensure their memory endures for future generations.
“My mum interviewed my great grandmother and asked her about Robert so I could get a better understanding of who he was. My great grandmother described him as clever, the best at school, the best in Hebrew, very good looking and loved by everyone. When mum told me about the idea of twining my Bar Mitzvah in honour of someone who didn’t have the opportunity to have one, Robert was the right person. Even though my great grandmother is not here she knew Robert was going to be in our hearts tonight.” — Tyler.
Tyler’s generous donation will go towards ensuring the voices of Holocaust survivors live on.
