First-Ever Bar Mitzvah In Bethel, Alaska (Courtesy eBay)

I’ve never been to Bethel, Alaska, but I hear it’s a flat, wet place in one of the poorest regions of Alaska. Bethel’s a Bush town of 5000 situated 90 miles from the mouth of the Kuskokwim River and 500 air miles from the state’s road system. Today’s paper ran a touching story of how a Jewish family living in this heavily-native village with no rabbi or synagogue scraped together enough money ($3100) to purchase a Torah from Israel on eBay and hold Bethel’s first-ever bar mitzvah. The Horesh’s keep the Torah at home, keep kosher by flying in their meats from Seattle, and hold Havdalah service every Friday.  It’s a classic story not just of Jewish life in Alaska but also of the bizarre mix of technology and tradition in Alaska’s villages. The Internet really has turned the world into a global village. If I were eBay, I’d tout this story!