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Last week, representatives from "Keren Hashvi’is" were surprised to receive a phone call from a family in America that they are arriving this week in Eretz Yisrael for a visit in honor of the upcoming Bar Mitzvah of their son, David, and that they are interested in meeting Shomrei Shemittah farmers. They requested that they prepare for them a few hundred fliers of "Keren Hasheviis" and its activities.
The family told the "Keren Hashvi’is" representatives that their son, David learned about the Mitzvah of Shemittah in school, and was impressed by the mesiras nefesh of the farmers who leave their fields hefker for a full year. The boy, who is about to reach the age of Mitzvos next month, informed his parents of his desire to donate all of his Bar Mitzvah gifts to benefit "Keren Hashvi’is", and thereby help the Shomrei Shemittah farmers. The parents heeded their son's request and attached to each Bar Mitzvah invitation a flier from "Keren Hashvi’is" along with their request that a donation be made to the Keren in lieu of a gift.
This week, the Bar Mitzvah boy and his parents visited Eretz Yisrael to daven at the Kotel and other holy sites. Over the course of their trip, they met representatives from "Keren Hashvi’is" who arranged meetings for them with Shomrei Shemittah farmers. The parents and their Bar Mitzvah boy, David, were moved to tears by the difficulty of the nisyonos that the Shomrei Shemittah farmers endure.
At the close of their visit with the farmers, the Bar Mitzvah boy and his parents came to the homes of the Gedolei HaDor, Harav A.L. Shteinman and Harav Chaim Kanievsky, who were very moved by the boy's actions, that he donated his gifts to the Shemittah farmers. Gedolei Yisrael blessed the Bar Mitzvah boy and his parents that in the zechus of the Mitzvah of Shemittah that the Bar Mitzvah will be zocheh to reach great heights in Torah and yir'ah.
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