On June 6, 2026, I will become a Bar Mitzvah. In Jewish tradition, this milestone isn’t just a celebration — it’s the moment you take on personal responsibility as a member of the Jewish community. One of the most important ways to fulfill that responsibility is through a mitzvah project: a meaningful act of service that reflects your values and your Torah portion.
My Torah portion is Beha’alotcha, which means “when you kindle” or “when you raise up.” In it, God instructs Aaron to light the Menorah — to bring light into the world. That image has stayed with me. Because for thousands of people right now fighting blood cancer or a life-threatening blood disease, their world has gone very dark. And for many of them, a single person — a matching bone marrow or stem cell donor — could be the light that saves their life.
That’s what Gift of Life does. Gift of Life is a nonprofit bone marrow and stem cell donor registry that connects patients in desperate need with potential donors. Joining the registry is simple — just a cheek swab. But for a patient who has run out of other options, a match from that registry can mean everything. It can mean more birthdays, more milestones, more time with the people they love.
Here’s the part that makes this so urgent: 70% of patients who need a bone marrow transplant don’t have a matching donor in their own family. They are completely dependent on a stranger choosing to register. And patients from certain ethnic and mixed-heritage backgrounds have an especially hard time finding matches because the registry doesn’t yet reflect the full diversity of the people who need it.
Every donation I raise will go toward recruiting new donors — funding the cheek swab kits, outreach events, and education that bring more potential lifesavers into the registry. And if you’re between the ages of 18 and 45, I hope you’ll also consider swabbing in yourself. It costs nothing. It takes two minutes. And someday, it could be everything.
I’m 13 years old, and I’m just starting to understand what it means to be responsible for someone other than yourself. But I already know this: if I have the ability to help save a life, and I don’t act, that’s not who I want to be.
Please donate. Please register. Please share this page.
L’dor v’dor — from generation to generation, we carry the light forward.
Levi