"We Recycled Bottles and Honored the Victims": The Unbelievable Story of the Residents of Gilo

When Eliyahu Kalimi told the children in Gilo about his plan to collect bottles for recycling to fund "a Torah scroll for everyone," it sounded like a dream. "The children asked me how much a Torah scroll costs, and I told them the amount is around 130,000 shekels. We sat together and calculated that to reach this amount, we would need to collect about 400,000 bottles, and I told the children I estimated the collection would last around five years. It sounded like I was daydreaming, but I managed to excite them, and we all started collecting," he says. "But then an amazing thing happened - more and more people heard about it and donated bottles, and I'm not just talking about residents of the neighborhood, but people from all over Jerusalem."

Kalimi notes that it has become a regular ritual: "Every day, I would come to the synagogue and see that bottles awaited me, brought from all over the city. Sometimes a few dozen, sometimes hundreds of bottles, and there were instances when thousands arrived. There were a few times we surpassed 3,000 bottles in a single day."

And who was responsible for collecting the cash deposit for the bottles?

"We established an entire system, and there were a few good people in the synagogue who volunteered for this: one of them would count the bottles, another is a private driver, and every day I would give him addresses throughout the city, and he would travel and bring bottles from there. Additionally, there were several people who transported the bottles to two fixed locations where we received money. I would keep the money, and when a significant amount accumulated, I would transfer it to the scribe who was writing the Torah scroll for us. The most amazing thing is that despite initially thinking it would take us five years to collect the full amount, we managed to reach the goal in just over two years," Kalimi says with excitement.

In Memory of the Victims

If everything described here sounds simple, it turns out it's entirely not so. "We are after two years of very strenuous work," Kalimi clarifies. "Not a day went by without dealing with this topic; not an hour passed where our minds didn’t think of ways to collect more and more bottles. Once, when I was in the south, an acquaintance from the Ashkelon area called me to inform me he had a large amount of bottles for recycling. Naturally, I couldn’t resist, so I drove to him and filled my car with bottles. In another instance, bottles came from Migdal HaEmek in the north. I think there isn’t anyone in the country who hasn’t heard of the plan."

Within the bottle collection project, Kalimi continued his regular organization of Psalms, attended by about 40 children, and additionally, his daughter continued the Psalms for girls she also hosted in the neighborhood. "All our activities in the neighborhood are from the 'Kehillot Israel' organization, which is involved in Torah dissemination in the Gilo neighborhood," he explains, "We have Talmud classes for children, a kollel for adult learners, a 'Day of Torah' on Independence Day, and other Torah initiatives for the glory of Hashem. Collecting bottles to fund the writing of the Torah scroll is just part of these initiatives, and of course, all the neighborhood residents, especially the children, are thrilled that we succeeded in the mission."

Kalimi points out that initially, they planned to write the Torah scroll in memory of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory, but once the war broke out, it was decided that the Torah scroll would also be dedicated to the fallen and victims of the Iron Swords War.

At this stage, he says, they are organizing with great excitement for the concluding ceremony for writing the letters, which will be held soon in a hall in Jerusalem, attended by rabbis and neighborhood residents. The day after the ceremony, there will be a procession where the Torah scroll will be majestically brought into the synagogue. "This is a Torah scroll for everyone, and therefore everyone is invited to participate in the event," he emphasizes. "Anyone who donated, even one bottle, is a full partner."

And now, after the project is over, what's your next project?

"We finished collecting bottles for the Torah scroll, but we continue to collect additional bottles," Kalimi clarifies. "This time, my ambition is to use the recycling money to add at least two more learners to our morning kolel." He takes a deep breath. "There’s no doubt it’s not an easy task, but with Hashem's help and the help of our dear collectors, we will succeed."