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Nearly a year ago, 13-year-old Levy* watched his world collapse when his mom was stricken by a sudden brain hemorrhage and rushed unconscious to the hospital. As her condition steadily deteriorated, Levy’s dad was forced to leave his job to take care of the children and his wife as well. The oldest child in the family, Levy, is now bearing the brunt of the pain, poverty and sadness.
“From the start, we made every effort to ease the financial burden on Levy’s family,” explains Boys Town Jerusalem Junior High Principal Rabbi Yehuda Rosencrantz. “We’ve cancelled all tuition costs, and provided Levy with free schoolbooks, extracurricular activities, Summer Day Camp, and more. Now we’re seeking ways to ease his painful emotional scars.”
Rabbi Rosencrantz noted that the COVID closure of the school for the better part of Levy’s seventh grade year made his already-terrible situation even worse. With his father torn between being at the side of his desperately-ill wife and tending to their young children, Levy was left to take increasing responsibility for his siblings.
“Our focus – and our hope – is to bolster his scholastic skills and his emotional health.
We’ve arranged for intensive tutoring for Levy to catch him up to class level and boost his confidence. But he is gaining most from the very caring BTJ teacher and rabbi we’re sending regularly to his home to help the youngster with his lessons, to listen, and to give him crucial inner strength as Levy’s mother’s condition remains critical. As Levy begins Grade 8 at the start of the new school year, his younger brother will be entering Grade 7,” says Rabbi Rosencrantz. “We’ll be at their side to help these boys face whatever the present and future holds.”
Boys Town Jerusalem is one of Israel ‘s premier institutions for educating the country’s next generation of leaders in the fields of technology, commerce, and public service. Since its founding in 1948, BTJ has pursued its mission of turning young boys from limited backgrounds into young men with limitless futures. From Junior High through the College level, the three- part curriculum at Boys Town – academic, technological and Torah – is designed to turn otherwise disadvantaged Israeli youth into productive citizens of tomorrow. The campus, located on 18 acres in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem, provides a nurturing home-away-from home environment for more than 950 students. More than 7,500 graduates hold key positions throughout Israeli society.
*Actual name not used as child is a minor
For more information, visit www.boystownjerusalem.org ; call Gary M. Arnowitz, Exec. Dir., Boys Town Jerusalem Foundation of America, Southeast Region. M: 954.665.7188
