Masorti Olami

Heshvan 5763, October 2002

By Judy Dvorak Gray

This past year has seen a tremendous growth in our activities and in the development of Masorti kehillot throughout the world. In order to keep you better informed, we are beginning a new format of a monthly newsletter to report on our activities. Each month we will focus in depth on the activities in one or two countries and also provide you with brief updates of our activities in other places. We welcome your suggestions and thank you for your support.

News from Ukraine

Gila Katz, our dedicated field worker for our activities in Ukraine, shared a special memory with us. During the years that Gila was a young girl growing up in Chernowitz, all Jewish activities were prohibited. Gila recalls that each year on Kol Nidre evening, her father would take her by the hand and walk together with her through the streets of Chernowitz in order to pass by the former synagogue that stood empty and silent. Gila’s father literally sought a way to physically bring her closer to her heritage. Today there is a vibrant TALI day school and Masorti kehillah in Chernowitz, thanks to Gila’s efforts. Gila made aliyah in 1995 and now lives in Jerusalem. As head of the Former Soviet Union Department of Midreshet Yerushalayim (an arm of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies) and a fieldworker for Masorti Olami, Gila continues to labor to bring thousands of Jews in Ukraine closer to their roots, as her father did for her. We now have Masorti kehillot in Chernowitz, Uzgharod and Kiev alive with activities on Shabbat, holidays and learning during the week. There are seven Sunday schools and a day school throughout Ukraine established by Midreshet Yerushalayim. This past summer, Camp Ramah Yachad in Ukraine celebrated its 10th anniversary in a new expanded site outside of Kiev. The 180 campers and 40 staff members displayed a special thirst for knowledge of their Jewish identity and heritage. A highlight of the camp session was the dedication of a sefer Torah, donated to Masorti Olami by Temple Emanu-el in Brooklyn, New York through the inspired leadership of Rabbi Benjamin Kreitman. Dan Dunn, Chairperson of Activities in Ukraine for Masorti Olami, attended the dedication at camp. The funds for restoring the Torah and making it available to Camp Ramah Yachad were generously donated by the family and friends of Nat and Bea Taubenfeld, from Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell, New Jersey, in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary. David Taubenfeld was instrumental in raising funds for the camp, which enabled it to move to its new site and accommodate more campers. But we must also look beyond the successful camp season. We must provide opportunities for the dedicated and talented staff members to participate in serious leadership training in order to take on significant roles in the future in their communities in Ukraine. We need to establish our youth movement, NOAM, so that the youngsters can meet for Jewish programming throughout the year and connect to Masorti Judaism. We need to fund scholarships for rabbinical studies and teacher education for suitable candidates, so that the communities can continue to expand and blossom. Many Ukrainian Jews are seeking the Masorti approach to Judaism and have turned to us to establish schools, early childhood programs, family education and religious services. Our answer to them is dependent upon providing educated leaders and significant funding to meet their needs. We are being given an opportunity to take our Ukrainian brethren by the hand and bring them closer to their roots. We must meet this challenge to help them return to their heritage and flourish.

Wroclaw, Poland

Two recent milestone events have attracted worldwide attention to the Jewish community of Wroclaw (pronounced Vrotzlav): the first non-Orthodox conversions since World War II and the first Bat Mitzvah ceremony ever celebrated in Poland. Wroclaw, located approximately 190 miles southwest of Warsaw, is the second largest Jewish community in Poland, numbering roughly 700 people. Prior to World War II, Wroclaw was part of Germany. Known as Breslau, it was once the home to 30,000 Jews. Its roots to Conservative Judaism go back to 1854 when Rabbi Zecharias Frankel founded the Jewish Theological Seminary in Breslau, across the street from the White Stork Synagogue. Jewish life began to revive in Wroclaw after the fall of communism in 1989. In the atmosphere of new religious, social and political freedom, young people began to search for their Jewish identity and wanted to learn more about their heritage. Interest in Masorti Judaism began when Ellen Friedland and Curt Fissel from Montclair, New Jersey decided to marry in Wroclaw in July 2000 in a Conservative ceremony conducted by Rabbi Michael Monson who accompanied the couple to Poland. It was the first Jewish wedding in Wroclaw in 36 years. The Rabbinical Assembly and Masorti Olami asked Rabbi Ivan Caine, a retired rabbi from the Philadelphia area, and his devoted wife Deborah, to serve the Wroclaw Jewish community for the high holidays in September 2001. They have since returned a number of times during this past year to be with the kehillah for learning and to celebrate Shabbat and holidays and are loved and respected by the members. In February, Ivan Caine was appointed Rabbi of Silesia (Poland's second largest region of Jewish population). During the aseret y’mai t’shuvah, the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Rabbi Joe Wernik, Executive Vice President of Masorti Olami, and Rabbi Andy Sacks, Director of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel, traveled to Wroclaw to join Rabbi Caine in a Beit Din. The Beit Din was the culmination of several years of study and active participation in the Jewish community. Males underwent circumcision or hatafat dam (for males previous circumcised) prior to the convening of the Bet Din. Each of the new Jews had his or her own reasons for choosing to convert. Many had a Jewish grandparent or parent. All of the converts were searching for more meaning in their lives and have found it in the Masorti approach to Judaism. Rabbi Wernik describes the four days he spent in Poland and Czech Republic as “an emotional roller coaster”. Although he felt inspired and strengthened by this special group of young adults and their devotion to the Jewish people, the trip had its difficult moments. Some officials in the Orthodox establishment did everything they could to prevent the conversions from taking place. When Rabbi Caine was informed by the Orthodox rabbi that the mikveh in Warsaw would not be opened to them, he found an alternative in a hotel mikveh in Krakow. However, while on the bus ride from Wroclaw to Krakow with the excited converts, the rabbis received a telephone call warning them that a demonstration will be taking place in front of the hotel to prevent the Masorti conversion. Confrontation was avoided when the leader of the demonstration agreed to call off the protest if permitted to address the group. In his speech, he warned the converts that their Masorti conversion would not be accepted by the Orthodox establishment. But the group was already fully aware of the consequences of their act and was at peace with their decision. They proceeded with the immersion, one by one, reciting the appropriate blessings and proudly chose Hebrew names. During Sukkot, a Bat Mitzvah ceremony took place in the historic White Stork Synagogue in Wroclaw. This is believed to be the first Masorti Bat Mitzvah ever celebrated in Poland. Emotions were high as the two proud mothers placed tallitot on their daughters’ shoulders before they chanted the blessings on the Torah. The two Bat Mitzvah girls, Delfina Krieger and Iga Siedlecka, both 15 years old, studied with Rabbi Caine and became Jews in a Conservative conversion in the United States this summer. Their mothers were among the members of the Wroclaw kehillah who converted in Poland. Ivan Caine believes that the Masorti approach is what many in Poland are searching for—a blend of tradition with modernity. He doesn’t understand the attitude of the Orthodox authorities. “It seems like for them, they would rather have no revival than a liberal revival.”

Update on Argentina

We are continuing to help our brethren during the current crisis in Argentina. Due to the severe economic problems, many parents can no longer afford Jewish education for their children. Families are also turning to congregations for meals and distribution of food and clothing. The Seminario Rabbinico Latinoamericano “Marshall T. Meyer” is in need of funds to continue its programs for future rabbis and Jewish educators. Many of the donations to our Argentina Masorti Assistance Fund have been contributed to provide more informal Jewish educational programs to supplement Jewish education. More youngsters are participating in NOAM (the youth movement) and Marom (the young adult movement) activities. A number of North American synagogues have responded to our Twinning Project and are in direct contact with their twin congregation in Argentina and working to help them with their specific needs. The Assembly of Masorti Synagogues in the United Kingdom has placed the crisis in Argentina high on their agenda and has responded generously with donations to NOAM camps and educational activities. Daniela Kuzis Yakin, our Masorti Olami shlicha (emissary) in Buenos Aires, has succeeded in establishing good working relationships with the Masorti kehillot and is helping them to carry out joint projects such as summer and winter camps, counselor training courses and seminars. A Marom Seminar took place in August in which 350 students from Argentina and 33 students from Chile participated. Plans are underway for joint summer day camps and overnight camps in December for children from all of the kehillot together. Over 1,400 campers and staff will participate in Camp Ramah NOAM Argentina in December. There are many Argentineans who have chosen to make aliyah at this time and the Masorti Movement in Israel is laboring tirelessly to help with their absorption. Many are now members in Spanish speaking Masorti kehillot in Kiryat Bialik and Ra’anana. Thirty new immigrant children from Argentina attended Camp Ramah NOAM this past summer and many more will participate in NOAM programs throughout the year. Several Masorti rabbis will be visiting Argentina this fall and will update us on the situation and recommend how we can best continue to help our brethren at this time. Funding is still needed to continue our educational projects. Contributions to the Argentina Masorti Fund should be made payable to “World Council of Synagogues, Inc.” and sent to: World Council of Synagogues, 155 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. All contributions are tax deductible. Other News Briefs United Kingdom: The second annual “Yom Masorti” will take place in London on Sunday, November 10. Yom Masorti is a day of learning that includes creative workshops, Torah study, family events and bonding between Masorti members from the UK. Avigail Ben Aryeh, the new shlicha to the UK, has enthusiastically begun her work and is busy meeting members of the community and providing support to NOAM and Marom.

Germany

Gesa Ederberg completed her rabbinical studies at the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies in June and will be ordained in December. Gesa has returned to Berlin and has set up a non-profit organization called “Masorti-Verein”, the organization for Masorti Judaism in Germany. She has been busy building contacts with leaders and organizations in Berlin. Gesa is also working with the kehillah in Weiden and has also begun to establish a Lehrhaus in Berlin.

Prague

A new Masorti kehillah has been formed in Prague under the leadership of Rabbi Ron Hoffberg. In September, Rabbi Joe Wernik and Rabbi Andy Sacks joined Rabbi Hoffberg for a Beit Din for conversion. Seventeen members of the Prague community studied and prepared for this event. Although the Orthodox establishment did not give permission for use of the mikveh, the group found an alternative solution in the Carlesbad Springs. A Marom Seminar for students from all over Europe will take place November 15-17 in Prague.

Spain

Chayl Masorti volunteers, Rebecca Hoffman and Eytan Hammerman, have just arrived in Madrid to work with the Beit El community. Mr. Mario Stofenmacher, director of Beit El, reports many exciting and challenging developments in the kehillah. With the arrival of a large number of new immigrants from Argentina, the congregation has increased from 60 families to 100 families in the past year and is expecting even more families to join the kehillah during the coming months. The kehillah has established many new educational programs and activities to meet the needs of the new members and to help them in their transition.

 
Bill and Amy Lipsey, from Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell, New Jersey, graciously donated a sefer Torah in April to Beit El in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of their son, David. This summer, the New York Metropolitan region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs donated ten sets of tefillin to Beit El, which was greatly appreciated by the kehillah.