Bar Mitzvah: Henry Gabriel Williams

Henry Gabriel Williams, son of Hannah and Joel Williams of Marietta, was called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah May 25, 2019 at Temple Kehillat Chaim.

Henry is a rising eighth-grader at Hightower Trail Middle School and enjoys playing baseball, online gaming with his friends, and spending time with his dog, Baby Doe. He also participates in the Eitanim program and will be participating in the Eitanim Hackathon program in Los Angeles later this summer. Henry previously attended Camp Ramah and is currently active in TKC’s Junior Youth Group.

For his mitzvah project, Henry organized a blood drive at TKC. He was inspired by his great-grandfather, Al I. Smith, who was a lifelong super donor with the Jewish War Veterans Post 112. It was important to Henry that his project fulfilled a need, not a want, and he also was inspired to work with the Red Cross because of its work with survivors of natural disasters. Henry looks forward to continuing to bring blood drives to TKC in the future, as he said in his bar mitzvah d’var Torah, “I don’t want this to be a one and done and run.”

Get The AJT Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

Henry is the grandson of Donna Smith Aranson and Peter Aranson (z”l) of Sandy Springs; Mary Lynn Ryland (z”l) of Atlanta; and Thomas Williams (z”l) of Richmond, Va.