Sixth-grade Hebrew school students at Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek made a special gift for Hanukkah: They donated $150 of their own money to Libi USA, a humanitarian fund for the Israel Defense Forces.
The students were inspired to make the gift after class discussions about Israel and terrorism, according to their teacher, Julia Babka-Kurzrock.
“Part of the curriculum is Israel; we talk about land, the people, the IDF,” Babka-Kuzrock said. “They definitely knew that kids had lost their parents and that there were victims that were orphans. … These guys are sixth-graders, so I’m not sheltering them too much. They do get it.”
The students contribute tzedakah donations throughout the year, generally deciding on the recipient in May, although they sometimes also make smaller gifts throughout the year.
Given the recent violence in Israel, the students, with some encouragement from their teacher, decided to make an immediate donation rather than waiting until the spring.
Babka-Kurzrock challenged the students to increase their donations for the three weeks leading up to the gift by personally matching the funds they brought in.
“For three weeks, they brought in more money per session than they had all year,” Babka Kurzrock said.
Libi USA was so touched by the student donation that the story is now posted on its website at www.tinyurl.com/sixth-graders. “I was really proud of my students,” Babka-Kurzrock said. — drew himmelstein