L'chaim

Dear Readers, 

Happy Thanksgivinukka! 

Today is a day of being thankful, spending time with family and friends, and bringing light into the world. I'd like to thank all of you who have contributed to my Chai Raiser. I can't believe how quickly the fundraiser has grown. We've received donations from friends, family, and even strangers. I'm happy to announce that the next part of my fundraiser is going to be at the Blackstone Valley Ice Arena in Hopedale at an event called Chanukkah on Ice on Sunday December 1st.

I also received an email last week with pictures of Shira after the bus bombing and what she looks like today. When I saw the picture of her today, I would not have known she was so badly injured. Shira  has scars and wears glasses. It was heartbreaking to see her as a baby because she looked so sad and injured. Now that I see what Shira lookes like, I feel even more excited to help her. 

Have a great Chanukkah,

Samantha

P.S. If you'd like to donate money to the Chai Raiser here is the link

http://www.gofundme.com/50jj0s

Shira after the bombing

Shira now

Chai in my Mind

In this weeks post, I'm going to share with you information about my fundraiser called The Chai Raiser and about the many meanings of Chai. This fundraiser will benifit Shira and her family and the Chabad Terror Victims Project (CTVP).

"The definition of the Hebrew word chai means "life". Life... anyone's life... is something very important to the Jewish people and culture, because it is G-d's gift to us. You may be familiar that when Jews toast one another, they say: "L'chaim!" It means "to life," as to also wish good luck in life. We don't quantify what "kind" of life, rather we celebrate life just for life itself! Many Jewish women and girls (like myself) wear a chai necklace around their neck, it is another way to connect to G-d and remind us how precious life is. The numerical value of Hebrew letters on the chai signify the number 18. Chet (ח) equals the number 8 and the yud (י) equals 10. When you add those two letters together it equals 18 (חי ). It's common for Jews to give gifts in multiples of 18 for this reason."

When I was 5 years old and my grandmother and great grandmother moved to Florida. Each time I went to Florida to visit my grandmothers, my grandma Hedy would always give me a 1, 5, 10, and 20 dollar bill. I never really paid attention to how much money she gave me, I was just thankful to have money to buy something. She usually gave it to me during my last visit before I would go home. But, this summer, the summer my grandmother passed, she gave me the dollar bills the first day I visited. In fact, she had given it to me right when I walked in the door. At the time, she didn't even know I was doing this Chai raiser. Once I was settled  in, I began to tell my grandma about it.

As you now know, chai means luck and when I counted out my money it add up to 36 dollars. At that moment, I realized that she always blessed me with good luck. So, when I realized this, I told my grandmother that I was going to use this 36 dollars to kick off my fundraiser. I know that my grandmother always gave a lot to charity and  she is looking down on me saying that I'm doing a good thing and is smiling proud.

My "Chai-Raiser" is an opportunity to ADD LIFE, where terrorists have destroyed life!"  So as part of my Bat Mitzvah project I want to raise 3,600 dollars (200x chai) to help Shira and her family. Please visit my fundraising page at http://www.gofundme.com/50jj0s  for more information.

I dedicate this entry to my grandma Hedy who passed away on July 24, 2013.

Samantha