This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with a birth date partner in Israel.
I was about 14 when I discovered three other friends who were born on the same day as I was — the ninth of Elul. We felt a special bond, and to this day we email or WhatsApp each other on our birthday. One of those friends and I call each other “Sis,” and she became like a surrogate daughter to my elderly parents when I was six thousand miles away from them, so the nickname worked. And I know I’m not alone. Proof of this desire to connect with our “birthday partners” is “Happy Birthday 2 You,” a project that will enable any Jew around the world (aged 16 and over) to register and be connected to a Jew in Israel who shares a common birth date. In the span of one month,15,000 people registered for the initiative. “Happy Birthday 2 You” was founded by Bat-Galim Shaer, an educator and social activist, and her husband Ophir, a lawyer and tax specialist, through an organization they created called SonShine, in memory of their son Gil-ad (z”l). Gil-ad was one of the three teenaged boys kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists in the summer of 2014. The country and much of the Jewish world held their breath and became united during that fearsome time, as Israeli security forces and many volunteers searched for the boys for 18 days until they discovered the cruel truth of their deaths. Bat-Galim says, “I will never forget the American who knocked on our door on a Thursday afternoon during the search for the boys. He said, ‘I am here on behalf of my community and we are with you and praying for Gil-ad’s return.’ ” This unity and love culminated in the Shaers creating SonShine. The Shaers intentionally spell Gil-ad’s (Hebrew) name with a hyphen in the middle to emphasize that it means “Joy (gil) forever (ad).” On the 19th of Tevet (January 3 this year) — Gil-ad would have celebrated his 23rd birthday. His parents say that they looked for ways to celebrate the day since Gil-ad always loved celebrating the birthdays of his friends and family. The Shaers hope that this project will help build bridges, continue that feeling of community, connect Jews in Israel and Jews in the Diaspora and encourage the “birth date” partners to form a deeper relationship that may lead to a meeting — even if it is only long distance — or a shared activity.
