present to israel | Imamother

Tamiri

Wed, Apr 23 2008, 2:14 pm

Why not send the money in cash? Unfortunately $18 won't buy a heck of a lot, but if he adds all his presents together, he may be able to get something he wants.
Cash because the cost of exchanging a check for shekels will take a healthy chunk out of that amount.

hila

Thu, Apr 24 2008, 1:35 am

You could order something small from an Israel bookstore. ( Like Pomerantz _ dont know what his shipping charges are inside Israel) . It is free to Efrat though - maybe Jerusalem too.

http://www.pomeranzbooks.com/m.....t.asp

Tamiri

Thu, Apr 24 2008, 4:20 am

avimom wrote:

doesn't that look cheap??

You know something? I think it's very nice that you are intending to send a present to a bar mitzva where you won't be at the party. Cheap? Why - do you owe the boy anything? I think that you send what you want/can afford and you don't have to worry about the rest. It's not a generous gift, but for that, and if you wish to make a lasting impression, you need to send at least $50 - $100, if you care to.
Where I lived in the States, $75 was considered cheap for a bar mitzva. Other places $36 may be considered cheap. Since there is no set "cheap", I would suggest you go with what makes you comfortable.
If you convert $ to shekels, those $18 are still not going to make a whole heck of a lot, around 60 nis. That is a bit more than I spend when one of my kids goes to a friend's bar mitzva. You can't buy any serious sforim with that, the minimum is probably around 75 nis for a good book. In the 50 nis range I once got a book about the brachot for each type of food, along with pictures. But, again, this was from one kid to another.

freidasima

Sun, Apr 27 2008, 3:51 pm

Another thing, even for a Bar Mitzva, is to give a donation in his zechus and send him the receipt for it. There are lots of things like that to do, and if you aren't going to be there, it's a nice gesture and a mitzva to boot!