Masorti Olami

January, 2004 – Tevet, 5764 By Judy Dvorak Gray 2004 Chayl Masorti Shlichim to Australia Meet Hadass Aharon, Elhanan Brown and Shay Klapper --our 2004 Chayl Masorti shlichim to Bialik College and Kehilat Nitzan in Melbourne, Australia. Carmiel Frutkoff, who successfully served as a shaliach in 2003, will continue until July. All of our shlichim are enthusiastic, talented and highly motivated to share their love of Israel with Australians. Hadass lives in Tzur Igal (north of Tel Aviv). She was an active member of NOAM for seven years, both as a chanicha (participant) and as a madricha (counselor). Hadass just completed her army service where she worked in the field of educating soldiers in using weapons and was in charge of all teaching methods in the unit. Hadass plays cello and also dances. Shay lives in Jerusalem. He is a second year student in an interdisciplinary program at Hebrew University in Law and Humanities (with a specialization in Contemporary Judaism, Art and East Asia studies). Shay has decided to take a semester off from school to be a shaliach. Shay has been involved in TALI (Masorti schools) through his work as a counselor on TALI seminars and has served as a counselor at Ramah camps and on Ramah Seminar in Israel. Shay served in the Education Corps in the I.D.F. and guided army groups. Elhanan is a graduate of the Masorti High School in Jerusalem and served as a tank commander and trainer of the tank commander's course and also of the leadership development course in the army. Elhanan is currently working with the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program as a counselor to groups of high school students from North America. He "grew up" in Camp Ramah Poconos where his parents were on staff for many years. Elhanan was a counselor at Ramah Poconos this past summer and also worked with short-term Ramah groups in Israel last year. He plays guitar and drums. The shlichut is sponsored by Bialik College, one of ten Jewish day schools in Melbourne. Bialik College has approximately 1000 students, from kindergarten through grade twelve. The shlichim are involved in all informal Jewish educational activities in the school, as well as in helping to teach Judaic studies classes. In addition, the shlichim are involved in activities at Kehilat Nitzan, the Masorti kehillah in Melbourne. They contribute their special talents and skills to the kehillah, including leading children's t'fillah, working with b’nai mitzvot, and serving as shalchei tsibur, Torah readers, etc. This is the third year that shlichim from the Masorti Movement are being invited to participate in "Project Masoret" by Bialik College. The past two years have been very successful, thanks to the wonderful efforts of Mr. Michael Cohen, deputy principal, and Ms. Genia Janover, principal of Bialik College, as well to the efforts of our hardworking shlichim. We welcome home 2003 shlichot Rebecca Sullum and Tamar Ettun from their year in Melbourne and look forward to their continued involvement in the Masorti Movement here in Israel. ________________________________________ Donor for Priluki Sunday School Masorti Olami is grateful for the contribution by Mr. Olivier Resnik from Barcelona, Spain to fund the Priluki Sunday school. Priluki is a small town in the region of Chernigov, located about 80 miles from Kiev in Ukraine. There is a synagogue in the town. Six years ago, a few people got together to start a Sunday school, with volunteers teaching and doing activities with the children. Two years ago, Gila Katz, head of the department of activities in the FSU for Midreshet Yerushalayim (part of the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem), met Mr. Pavel Lippin from Priluki at a Jewish education conference in Kiev. He explained that he is the principal of a small school and although he had asked for help for the school from many organizations, he was turned down because there are so few students. He asked, “Don’t these 18 children deserve a Jewish education too?” Gila believed they did. She invited Mr. Lippin and his teachers to participate in the teaching seminars that she organizes for the staff of the seven schools run by Midreshet Yerushalayim in Ukraine. She also provided the staff with teaching materials. Today there are 25 children in the Priluki Sunday school ranging in age from 6-15 years old. The school meets on Sundays for 4 ½ hours. The curriculum includes Hebrew, Jewish history, masoret (tradition), Jewish songs and Israeli folk dancing. The children also receive a light meal at school, thanks to funding for this purpose from the Rochlin Foundation. Each Friday, the families from the school get together for Kabbalat Shabbat. They also meet to celebrate holidays together. The teachers organize a seminar for parents before each holiday to teach about the history, customs and traditions of that holiday. They are also planning on opening a weekly study group for parents, which will meet at the same time as the Sunday school. Seven children from Priluki attended Camp Ramah Yachad in Ukraine during the past two summers. This experience gives the campers the opportunity to connect with other children and staff members from the Masorti Movement in Ukraine and to enrich their Jewish knowledge through informal education. We are grateful for the contribution of Mr. Olivier Resnik, which enables the children and parents to learn about their Jewish heritage and strengthen their Jewish identity. For other funding possibilities, please be in touch with our office: mail@masortiolami.org ________________________________________ Thank you from Camp NOAM Argentina Camp NOAM Argentina is grateful for the donations received that made it possible for camp to happen this year. The overnight camp took place from December 21-29 in three locations, all located along the sea. More than 2,000 participants from 17 Masorti kehillot in Argentina joined together for this special overnight camping experience. In addition, 500 campers and staff participated in a kaytana (day camp) which took place just outside of Buenos Aires. Thank you to USY Tikkun Olam, members of Agudath Israel in Caldwell including Robin and Lisa Lissak (who hosted an art show with proceeds donated to the camp), Marjorie and Norman Feinstein and Scott and Wendy Newman as well as an anonymous donor for their contributions to Camp NOAM Argentina. Also, thank you to the Education Department of the Jewish Agency for their support of the camp. Tu B’shvat in Wroclaw, Poland Dr. Moti Arad, from the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, traveled to Wroclaw, Poland for Shabbat Shira (February 6-8). His visit was arranged by Marom Olami and funded by the Hagshama Department of the WZO. This was not just an “ordinary” visit by a visiting scholar to a town in Eastern Europe. For Moti Arad, this was a homecoming of sorts. He was born in 1946 in Klotzko, just sixty kilometers from Wroclaw. When he was still a baby, his family moved to a transition camp in Germany for two years and made aliyah to Israel when the State was declared in 1948. The history of the Jewish community of Wroclaw dates back to the 13th century. The roots of Masorti Judaism can be traced to Wroclaw (formerly Breslau, Germany). It was the first home of the Jewish Theological Seminary, founded by Rabbi Zechariah Frankel in 1854. Moti described the feelings he had standing outside the original building of JTS as “exciting, sad and yet optimistic”. Today the kehillah in Wroclaw is the second largest in Poland, numbering close to 1000 families. It is composed of both elderly who survived the Holocaust as well as middle aged and young adult members who are rediscovering their Judaism and are anxious to learn and strengthen their identity. Moti led a Tu B’shvat seder on Friday evening for about 40 participants. On Shabbat following services, there was another group of participants who came for lunch and a Tu B’shvat seder. On Shabbat afternoon, Moti gave a lecture and study session entitled “From the Land of Israel to the State of Israel”. Moti emphasized the important contribution ofYael and Yinon Aharoni, our Chayl Masorti shlichim in Wroclaw. They are doing outstanding work in reaching out to the Jewish community and making a difference in the kehillah. Moti stated, “To spend Shabbat with the kehillah in Wroclaw was a very special experience. It was both Shabbat Shira and Tu B’shvat—a perfect way to combine Judaism and Zionism.” ________________________________________ Adath Shalom, Paris Adath Shalom is the first Masorti kehillah in France. Founded in 1988 by a group of 12 families, it now has over 200 families as members, with a further 400 families actively associated with the community, either through synagogue services, child or adult education, or other activities. Rabbi Rivon Kryger reports two important events are currently being planned: At the end of March, there will be a joint Shabbaton for families from the Masorti kehillot in Nancy, Nice and Paris which will take place in Nimes, in the south of France. The purpose of the Shabbaton is for the families to get to know one another and to celebrate a Masorti Shabbat together. On Sunday, the families will visit sites and explore the area. In April, a dialogue program will feature a Muslim intellectual in Paris with Rabbi Kryger. The kehillah is anxious to begin a process to improve communication and to speak openly about problems facing the communities. Together they want to find ways to continue the discussion and plan joint future events. Adath Shalom is also working now on updating and improving its internet site to include materials and articles connected to Masorti Judaism which will be translated into French. To learn more about the activities of Adath Shalom, visit the web site: www.adathshalom.org Tu B’shvat Sederim: Marom Czech Republic, Budapest Tu B’shvat sederim took place in Wroclaw, Poland, Budapest, and Prague. All were extremely successful and involved many participants. We hope to include more detailed reports and pictures in the next monthly report. ________________________________________ Marom Czech Republic On Sunday, February 8 (16 of Shvat) a Tu B’shvat seminar took place. We began with a trip to the Jewish community of Decin. We prepared a short disscussion about the work of Masorti and Marom in Czech Republic and a short Tu B’shvat program. When we returned from Decin, the program continued in Prague with lectures about Tu B’shvat followed by a Marom Tu B’shvat Seder. ________________________________________ Marom Budapest 180 young adults attended the Tu B’shvat seder in Budapest on Sunday, February 8. The program began with a panel of two experts who spoke about environment and ecology, one from a secular point of view and one from a Jewish point of view. The klezmer band of Marom played and a seder was conducted with traditional readings and modern Israeli songs. The program was very successful! It was televised on the main channel of Hungarian TV. ________________________________________ Beit Midrash – Marom UK Reported by Clare Hedwat, Marom UK The Beit Midrash of Marom UK is a dynamic, vibrant institution. Studying in the Marom Bet Midrash assumes no previous knowledge and welcomes people of all levels. Learning is done in ‘chevruta’, in pairs, which is then followed by a shiur led by our rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Weiner or other visiting rabbis and scholars. We have a tradition that values ‘machlochet’, roughly meaning disagreement, at the heart of learning which is why Jews are culturally wired to talk and why traditionally a Bet Midrash is a noisy, vibrant place to be. The Bet Midrash aims to give everyone a meaningful Jewish learning experience. This winter, the theme of the Beit Midrash is “Sexuality” and has covered topics as diverse as halachic responses to homosexuality, the issue of women’s clothes-men’s clothes, the connection between sex and holiness and the question “Does Judaism permit sex before marriage?” The Beit Midrash takes place at the New London Synagogue, 33 Abbey Road at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings. For more information, contact: clare@masorti.org.uk ________________________________________ Marom Latin American Seminar Sixty Marom members from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay will participate in the Marom Latin American Conference which will take place on Shabbat Ki Tisa, March 12-14 (19-21 Adar) outside of Buenos Aires. For more details, please contact Udi Givon, Director of Marom Olami: maromorg@zahav.net.il Latin American Masorti Conference / Masorti Olami Board Mission – March, 2004 The Latin American MERCAZ / Masorti Conference will take place on March 14 -15 (21-22 Adar) at the Seminario Rabinico Latinamericano Marshall T. Meyers in Buenos Aires. Participants will include rabbis, lay leaders and NOAM and Marom representatives from our Masorti kehillot in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay and others. Leaders from the Argentine Jewish community, Jewish Agency, Keren Kayemet, WZO and Israeli Embassy will also be invited to attend. The conference will include presentations and workshops about our kehillot, formal and informal education programs, community projects and ways to strengthen the community's relationship to Israel. An important part of the discussions will focus on formulating a vision for the future of the Masorti Movement in Latin America. Rabbi Alan Silverstein, President of Masorti Olami, and a number of Masorti Olami board members will travel to Buenos Aires to participate in the conference. They will also make site visits to various Jewish institutions in Buenos Aires and meet with representatives of the Jewish community. A special day trip to the Masorti kehillah in Montevideo, Uruguay is also planned. Optional Shabbat hospitality will also be arranged for those interested with our kehillot in Buenos Aires. For more information, please contact our office: mail@masortiolami.org ________________________________________ Masorti Women's Study Days The Women's League for Conservative Judaism sponsors the Masorti Women's Study Days, held in conjunction with the Masorti Movement in Israel and the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. If you are visiting Israel, you are invited to join in. For more information, contact WLCJ Israel Liaison, Diane Friedgut at: wleague@masorti.org ________________________________________ Order Megillat Hashoah (The Shoah Scroll) in time for Yom Hashoah Published by the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and the World Rabbinical Assembly, Megillat Hashoah is the culmination of a four-year project designed to produce a meaningful liturgical work in Hebrew and English for Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) which this year falls on Sunday, April 18 (27 Nissan). “Megillat Hashoah provides a religious context for our need to commemorate that which must never be forgotten. We believe that this is a project of historic importance and we hope and pray that, as time passes, this Megillah will perpetuate the memory of the Shoah just as the Pesah Seder perpetuates the memory of Exodus from Egypt,” explains Rabbi Professor David Golinkin, one of the initiators of this project and President of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. Megillat Hashoah was written by Prof. Avigdor Shinan, professor of Hebrew Literature at the Hebrew University, with the assistance of an academic committee which comprised specialists from various disciplines. It was translated into English by Rabbi Jules Harlow. Megillat Hashoah is comprised of six chapters to memorialize the six million Jewish souls that perished in the Holocaust: A beginning, Chaos and Confusion, Darkness, Facing the Abyss, The Heavenly Voice: For these Do I Weep, and There Will be Light Again. Some of the megilla chapters are to be read in the same haunting melody as that of Megillat Eicha, the Book of Lamentations, which is read on T’sha B’av. Megillat Hashoah’s final message leaves the reader with a profound sense of the ambiguous nature of Jewish existence itself: “Do not mourn too much, but do not sink into the forgetfulness of apathy; do not allow days of darkness to return; weep, but wipe the tears away. Do not absolve and do not exonerate, do not attempt to understand. Learn to live without an answer.” For further information, please contact: http://www.schechter.edu/bookstore/schbooks.htm or order directly from United Synagogue Book Service: http://www.uscj.org/booksvc/ (category: prayer / holiday) ________________________________________ Yom Masorti – Assembly of Masorti Synagogues, UK Yom Masorti, sponsored by the Assembly of Masorti Synagogues in UK, will take place on Sunday, March 21, 2004 at the Sternberg Centre in Finchley, North London from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The day includes workshops, seminars, chevruta learning, music and discussions with special activities for every age group. For more information, contact office@masorti.org.uk or go to “Yom Masorti” on the AMS website: http://www.masorti.org.uk/ayom2004.htm Purim "Me-shenichnas Adar marbin b'simcha" "When Adar enters, our joy increases”. We look forward to celebrating Purim beginning on Saturday evening, March 6 (14th of Adar) and continuing to sundown on Sunday, March 7. In Jerusalem and other walled cities, we celebrate Shushan Purim the following day, beginning in the evening of March 7th (15th of Adar). There are four mitzvot specific to the holiday of Purim: Reading the Megillah (Scroll of Esther) Festivity and rejoicing (the Purim meal) Sending food to friends (Mishloach Manot) Giving gifts to the poor (Matanot La'evyonim) A good resource with a listing of a multitude of Purim web sites (where you can find the history and customs of the holiday, games, recipes, greeting cards, Purim shpiels, clip art and more!) can be found at Jacob Richman’s hot sites: http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-hdaypu.htm Information is available in English, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, French and Portuguese. You can learn trop for reading Megillat Esther at: http://www.ellietorah.com/ptropes.html Be sure to check out the web site of the Jewish Theological Seminary for Purim too. It has commentaries on the holiday and the Guide to Jewish Religious Practice as well as kids’ activities. Also of interest: David Slavitt discusses "The Poem of Queen Esther," a 17th-century poem which views the Purim story in the light of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Visit: http://learn.jtsa.edu/purim/ ________________________________________ New Ideas for Ta’anit Esther Ta’anit Esther (the Fast of Esther) is traditionally marked as an expression of our solidarity with Esther who fasted before approaching Ahashverus with her request that he intercede on behalf of the Jewish community. This year Ta’anit Esther falls on Thursday, March 4, just prior to Purim. The Department for Zionist Activities of the World Zionist Organization has suggested that Ta’anit Esther be incorporated into the Zionist calendar. The idea is to organize an event just before Purim dedicated to reflection on the relationship of the Jewish community to the surrounding society and consider appropriate actions that might be taken accordingly to improve relations, combat anti-Semitism, encourage aliyah, etc. The Dept. of Zionist Activities suggests that you invite community leaders and activists to such an event. We need to show the courage to stand up for the Jewish community as Mordechai and Esther did. ________________________________________ Change in date of celebration for Yom Ha’zikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut! We just wanted to be sure that you all know: the Israeli government just decided last week to move forward the day of observance for Yom Ha’zikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day). Events to mark Yom Ha’zikaron will begin on the evening of Sunday, April 25 (5th of Iyar) and will continue through Monday, April 26. Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations will begin on Monday evening, April 26 (6th of Iyar) and continue on Tuesday, April 27. Please change your calendars accordingly!