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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1990
DAVID BURKE
SALES & LEASING
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Rabbi To Teach Judaism
To Teens In Soviet Union
SUSAN GRANT
Staff Writer
R
abbi Bruce Aft doesn't
expect to see much of
the Lithuanian or
Latvian countryside during
his upcoming trip to the
Soviet Union.
Instead, most of his time
will be spent in classrooms,
teaching Soviet teens about
Judaism, said Rabbi Aft,
Jewish Community High
School principal and
Midrasha, College of Jewish
Studies, director.
Rabbi Aft is one of three
Americans going to Riga,
Latvia, and Vilnius,
Lithuania, from Dec. 16 to
Dec. 30 as part of B'nai
B'rith International's effort
to reach out to Jewish com-
munities in the Soviet
Union. Joining him are
Jason Porth, 17, a senior at
North Farmington High
School and national B'nai
B'rith Youth Organization
vice-president, and Peter
Stark, a Jewish educator
from Boston. The Maurice C.
Zeiger Lodge of B'nai B'rith
is partially sponsoring the
trip.
In each city, Rabbi Aft will
co-direct a four-day B'nai
B'rith Youth camp with Mr.
Stark for 50 teens, ages 12 to
15. He also hopes to teach
adults in the evenings.
Both programs will focus
on Jewish history, anti-
Semitism, Israel, Jewish life
cycles and Hebrew, Rabbi
Aft said. "Much of it depends
on what they know and what
they are interested in," he
added.
This is the second time
B'nai B'rith International
has provided educational
programs within the Soviet
Union, said Hillel Kuttler,
Soviet units coordinator for
B'nai B'rith International.
Last summer, the organiza-
tion held camps in Len-
ingrad and Birobidzhan.
BBYO chapters have also
been organized throughout
the country.
To further expose the teens
to Judaism, Rabbi Aft plans
to bring menorot, Haggadot,
tapes of Jewish music, edu-
cational programs devised
by Jewish Experiences For
Families in Russian and
video tapes.
Because this is his first
trip to the Soviet Union,
Rabbi Aft isn't sure what to
expect.
"I just wanted to take this
opportunity to go while the
doors were still open," he
said. "I didn't want to miss
the opportunity to teach
teen-agers. We must work to
keep their Jewish identity
alive."
Yet, he is wary of the wave
of anti-Semitism rising
within the Soviet Union,
said Rabbi Aft, who has
talked with his family about
the dangers he might face
from angry anti-Semitic
groups. He is also aware of
the food and medicine shor-
tages plaguing the country
so he is bringing his own
supplies of kosher food and
medicine.
Jason Porth said his
mother is concerned for his
In each city,
Rabbi Aft will co-
direct a four-day
B'nai B'rith Youth
camp for 50
teens, ages 12 to
15. He also hopes
to teach adults in
the evenings.
safety during the trip, but
he's too excited to be wor-
ried. For Jason, the trip to
Vilnius is a homecoming of
sorts.
His father was born in
Vilnius before World War II
and his great-grandfather
was the rabbi in the city's
only remaining synagogue,
Jason said. "My grand-
parents are more excited
than I am," he said. He'll
miss five days of school, "but
this is a chance I can't pass
up."
Packed in Jason's luggage
among the B'nai B'rith
brochures and food are a few
items Rabbi Aft might have
forgotten including Slinkies
and Silly Putty which he
will give to the Soviets.
Jason doesn't know how
much Judaism he will be
able to teach his Soviet
counterparts. "I'm not going
as an educator," he said. "I
want to show those teens
that there are signs of Jew-
ish life outside the Soviet
Union."
"They know they are Jews,
but they don't know what
that entails," he said. "I
want them to know that
Judaism is a vibrant and
thriving religion." ❑