Heartfelt: Bereaved Father Sends 'Gifts to Heaven' for His Son

Moshe Sagron is a person who must be met to truly understand. A carpenter by trade and a family man, he holds a deep love for the traditional observance of Shabbat in his heart. He works tirelessly day and night to raise awareness about the sanctity of Shabbat among the public, wisely choosing to focus on educating children—the generation of the future.

"The Joy of Moshe Rabbeinu" is the name of the organization he founded, aiming to spread the teachings of Shabbat and Jewish consciousness within the people of Israel.

"How do we achieve this?" I earnestly ask Moshe, who quickly retrieves two CDs and a book from his bag.

"On these CDs, you can see the national quiz we hold annually," he explains to me.

"A quiz?" I find myself intrigued.

"And this book, 'The Joy of Shabbat'," he continues, "is studied thoroughly in schools that have embraced the idea."

At this point, I too am captivated. What book? What quiz? What's going on here? And the bigger question—why would an ordinary person get up one day to establish an organization like this?

"I've known Moshe for decades," Shimon Arbiv comes to his aid as I throw this question into the air. Arbiv, as it turns out, was attracted to Sagron's program's charm, and they have been working together ever since. "Seven years ago, in 2007," Arbiv recalls, "this Jew sitting here, Sagron, received the news of his son's death just before Shabbat."

Hospital or Burial?

Two hours before Shabbat, as he was already dressed in white to welcome the Shabbat Queen and everything at home prepared, a police officer and a social worker arrived at Sagron's home to inform him: "Your son was injured in a car accident."

Moshe glanced at the clock and asked with pure logic: "Hospital or burial?" When they didn't answer, he rebuked them. "Speak, don't be silent. There is no time, Shabbat is in two hours. If it's death, Yosef must rest before Shabbat; if it's the hospital, we must leave now."

"The officer," Arbiv continues, "understood he was dealing with a man who considers things purely logically and said: 'Blessed is the True Judge.'"

During the funeral, Moshe promised his son, Yosef, that he would send him many gifts to the heavenly yeshiva, and indeed, right after the funeral, he began working for the honor of Shabbat.

At the end of the funeral on the eve of Shabbat, Sagron asked his family members not to be sad on Shabbat, to drink wine and eat meat as per the mitzvah, for this would make Yosef most happy during his first Shabbat in heaven.

This tragic story laid the foundation for the organization that sprang forth.

With the assistance and full volunteer support of Rabbi Amos Shoshan, rabbi of the Poria Ridge settlements, the book 'The Joy of Shabbat' was compiled. Sagron and his volunteers distribute it, containing organized Shabbat laws, across schools that believe in Sagron's program and mission. The students eagerly learn from it.

Two hundred schools nationwide have already joined the program. 274 classes actively study the book, exposing 3,000 students from grades 5-6 to its content. The schools cover the entire country, from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat, Merom Golan to Netanya.

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On the first anniversary of Yosef's passing, the first quiz was held with divine assistance. That very night, the youngest daughter in the family dreamt of Yosef radiating with light. In her dream, she asked him whether what they did for him made any difference, and he responded: "On earth, they don't know what Shabbat is or its power. What you did caused a great revolution in Heaven, and because of that, all gates were opened to me."

In the next three years, the quiz was held in Tiberias, followed by three major conventions held at the Binyanei Hauma in Jerusalem.

Back to the experiential process of learning the book. After studying, an exam is conducted. 250 children from those who excel in the exam attend the national quiz as its official participants, with classmates and teachers supporting them. These participants face a panel of judges, including important rabbis, as the event unfolds with a presenter, orchestra, and excitement from all. 20 students are chosen for the finals. From them, 6 finalists are selected, including a winner and three runners-up.

"It's important to note," Sagron says, "that all 3,000 students who take the exam receive five Chumashim as a gift. The 250 chosen students among them receive 'Treasures of the Torah', a set of five volumes of commentary on the Torah. The 20 selected ones receive 'Delights of the Torah', commentaries on the weekly portion. Runners-up and winners receive a splendid set of six Talmud 'Oz VeHadar,' and last year's winner received 'Megillat Esther' as well.

I would prefer to relieve the students from the pressure of the exam," he says with fatherly emotion, as since his son Yosef's passing, he has gained thousands of sons through his involvement with the youth. "For me, they are all winners, just by being Shabbat-observant Jews. Every Jew holds all the Mediterranean Sea in his hand. Those who won the prize just received another bucket of water."

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The quiz is conducted with the full support and participation of Israel's great rabbis, including the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and may they be blessed with a good life, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Rabbi Bakshi Doron, Rabbi Zamir Cohen, and others.

The quiz has been running continuously for seven years, and there is still a long way to go. Sagron and his colleagues, Arbiv and Rabbi Yehoram Shish, an activist in Netanya, intend to also involve girls in a similar format. Additionally, they aim to establish a center for visual aids related to the 39 prohibited labors of Shabbat.

"We are nearing redemption," says Sagron, "and this is not just a slogan. The principals who agreed to the program we offered understood the impact... that it's not just about a quiz but about true redemption. These students," Sagron concludes the interview, "are the real iron dome of the people of Israel."

*Teachers and principals who wish to join this blessed initiative, or private individuals interested in becoming productive activists and ambassadors to spread the initiative, are invited to contact via email 052442755@012.net.il