B'nai Mitzva of 2009
Shoshana Klein
July 31, 2010
I'm Aviva. My Bat Mitzvah is on July 31, 2010, parsha Eikev. I am a 6th grader at Wiley Middle School. I play bassoon in the band at Wiley and in the Honors Band for all the Cleveland Heights-University Heights middle schools and I also play piano. I am on the Heights Youth Lacrosse team in the spring. I am in several clubs at school, including Science Olympiad, Wiley for the World, and Academic Challenge.
I live with my parents, Ari Klein and Ditte Wolin, my sister, Shoshana, and, for this school year, Kwa, our exchange student from Th ailand. I am learning a lot about the culture of Thailand. We have two cats that are playful but also lazy.
During our visit to Israel last summer, we visited one of the four Hand in Hand schools, where Jewish and Arab students study together. They learn about each other's cultures along with the usual academics. For my Bat Mitzvah project I am collecting books in English for the library of the school, as well as donations for them. The books need to be easy to read, but something that teens will be interested in. We made a list of books that might be good to collect (new or used) after talking with the librarian there and several reading teachers in the CHUH district. Anyone who would like to donate books or is planning a trip to Israel and is willing to transport some books, please contact me or my mom.
Tal Shutkin
August 28, 2010
My name is Tal Shutkin, and my Bar Mitzvah is this summer August 28, 2010. There are four people in my family, and I am the youngest. My parents are Connie Friedman and David Shutkin, and I have one older brother, Noah. I live in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and I am entering the eighth grade at Agnon school. I have many interests and concerns, including soccer and the environment.
I play soccer very seriously; it is my favorite thing to do. I began to play when I was six years old, when my brother had a soccer birthday party. Even though I was three years younger than everyone else, I could keep up. My dad, who had no experience playing soccer at the time, thought that I would like it. He immediately signed me up to play on a Shaker recreational team. At first I wasn't interested, but after that first practice I loved it, and it has been soccer ever since. Now I have become more serious about soccer, and I play with Cleveland Select.
Caring about the environment is another big factor in my life. I try to always be environmentally friendly in my daily life. That is why my Bar Mitzvah project has to do with helping the environment. For the project my brother and I are working on invasive species control at the Shaker Nature Center. I am also going to install a rain barrel at my house and go door to door to teach people about more eco-friendly lawn care practices.
Isaiah Pressman
Date, 2010
My name is Isaiah Pressman. My parents are Jay Pressman and Stacia Dearmin, and I have a brother named Jonathan. I am a homeschooled eighth-grader, and my favorite subjects are math, history, and especially spelling. I also study - and enjoy - piano and figure skating. I like all kinds of games and competition from Pokemon (the card and video games) to soccer and swimming (I swim on the Cleveland Heights swim team), and from chess to spelling bees.
One of the things I love most is reading, so for my tzedakah project I chose to support the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, one of my favorite places. Recently, decreased tax revenues because of our current economic state have caused a drop in library funding. That is why the library needs your donation! You can help in one of two ways. One way is to make a tax-deductible donation by check made payable to Friends of the Heights Libraries, 2345 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118. The other way to show your support, especially if you have had a drop in your funds, too, is with a donation of gently used books. You may deliver the books to the library's main branch on Lee Road.
Matthew Palevsky
August 7, 2010
Matthew Palevsky will become a Bar Mitzvah on August 7, 2010. Matthew is 13 years old and the youngest of six kids; he is the only boy. All of Matthew's sisters had their B'not Mitzvah at Beth El -The Heights Synagogue, and his oldest sister Nicole was the first Bat Mitzvah at the newly formed congregation. Matthew's parents are Marvin and Miriam Palevsky.
Matthew is a sports fanatic and reads all the websites of Cleveland's professional sports teams. He can talk players with you: stats, facts and trade information. Baseball is his favorite sport, and he has been playing for the last three years. Matt is autistic and also has cerebral palsy, so he got a late start with actually playing the game, but he has made tremendous improvement each year. Matt also likes to play the sports games on the Wii, PS/2 and his Nintendo DS.
Matthew is a Boy Scout; he joined almost one year ago. His troop is lead by BE -TH's own Ari Klein. Matt's troop goes camping once a month, every month of the year. Since he joined, Matt has not missed a single campout. Matthew loves history. He enjoys reading books about all the different wars and is able to remember the facts and years when historical events took place.
Learning the Haftarah for Matthew's Bar Mitzvah has been a big challenge for him. Due to his disabilities, Matt did not go to Hebrew School. In order to learn his Haftarah, his mother, Miriam, had to start out by teaching him to read Hebrew. Matthew is progressing beautifully. His family will be overcome with emotion on his big day, for he has overcome such a large challenge. They couldn't be more proud of him.
Matthew's Mitzvah project for his Bar Mitzvah is to raise money for the Friendship Circle. This is a non-profit organization that serves children with special needs and their families through a wide range of educational, social, and recreational programs. At the heart of the organization is a dedicated group of more than 200 teenage volunteers, including several teens from Beth El -The Heights Synagogue, who give freely of their time, devotion, unconditional love and support. They also offer valuable support and relief to families facing the many challenges of raising a child with special needs. You can learn more about the Friendship circle by going to www.FriendsCleveland.com.
Friendship Circle plans a walkathon in September to raise money in order to continue to provide programs for children and families with special needs. We are asking that you go to www.MyWalk4Friends.com/palevsky and sponsor Matthew for this walk. When you get to the website, you will see a box with with all our names listed. Click on Matthew's name. A screen will come up where you will be able to enter any donation amount and pay by credit card or check. You will also have the option to print out a donation form, if you prefer not to make your donation online. You can also just mail a check, made out to Friendship Circle, with Matthew's name in the comment section, and send it to: Miriam Palevsky, Friendship Circle, 2051 Wrenford Rd, South Euclid, OH 44121