Maayan's original dream was modest - to collect enough deposit bottles to buy himself a ping pong table, but after his younger brother died suddenly in crib death, Maayan Orbach (who will soon be celebrating ten) decided to dream big - and collect no less than 400,000 deposit bottles to write through The deposit money is a Torah scroll in memory of his late brother.
Photo: Itai Shaulian
"About a year ago, our baby son, the late Carmel Yonatan, died of death in the crib," says Nili, Maayan and Carmel's mother, "and at the memorial service we talked about the possibility of commemorating him and doing things in his memory.
Maayan, who was nine at the time, shared with us that he wanted to do something in his memory.
At that time he was collecting bottles, and he said that instead of buying ping pong table with that money, he wanted to write a Torah scroll with him in memory of his deceased brother.
We told him that it was very difficult to raise enough money from bottles for writing a Torah scroll, which cost a lot of money, but he did not give up.
He said he would collect bottles from wherever he could, and advertise throughout the area that he was collecting bottles so that more people could help, and also save the money he would receive as a birthday present.
Everything to write a Torah scroll for the soul of his brother Carmel. "
When the friends in Kfar Tapuach, the community where the family lives, heard that Maayan was collecting bottles in memory of his brother, they decided to take on the task as well: "People heard about it and started bringing us bottles. "People who bring bottles to us in the yard. Not a day goes by that we do not have a bag of bottles waiting for us near the house. Recently we recycle about 15,000 bottles a month, and because of the large amount we collect, we have been able to coordinate with the recycling corporation."
"We do not look from the side but work together with him," says Yair, the father, "and that includes the younger brothers, Shaked (7), Eitam (6), and Uri (4). Each contributes his share. We sort together, "Writers, and even crushing the bottles to reduce the space they occupy in our yard, which already looks like a large bottle warehouse. It's a really challenging project, but it's a very satisfying family challenge. We take something that was supposed to be thrown away and turn it into something meaningful, in memory of the deceased brother." .
Maayan plans to begin the process of writing the Torah scroll as early as his upcoming tenth birthday, out of a desire that by his bar mitzvah the Torah scroll will already be ready.
The guest of honor at the event is expected to be Jonathan Pollard - and not by chance.
"On the day Carmel Yonatan was born," says Nili, "Jonathan Pollard landed in Israel. That's why we named him after him. After our son died, Jonathan contacted us and strengthened us in the story of his life. In Maayan's dream, Jonathan Pollard will honor the Knesset "Carmel Yonatan. We all really want that to happen."
Spring with some of the bottles, Photo: Courtesy of the family
Together with the family, members of the community and other bottle donors from around the area, Maayan has so far managed to collect about 30,000 shekels, most of which is deposit money from about 100,000 bottles, to which Maayan also added money he earned from selling sukkah decorations and Independence Day flags.
This amount is about a quarter of the final fundraising target of NIS 120,000.
To reach the final destination, the cost of writing a Torah scroll, Maayan needs another 300,000 bottles, since, as Nili emphasizes, "he is not looking for donations of money, but rather of bottles."
Want to help young Maayan fulfill his dream?
- You can bring deposit bottles to the family home at 515 HaZayit Street, Kfar Tapuach, without prior arrangement, and place them on the grass, or send an email to the following address: yn.orbach@gmail.com.
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