Community

Spirituali

under Communist-rule, most of the . addition, we had 35 adults at o_ur
Jews living in the former Soviet
Friday-night oneg Shabbat.
Union have forgotten what being
Throughout the three-day yom
Jewish is all-about.,
tov [holiday]; various people frot-n
Ten years .ago a group was
the community stopped by to
formed to Meet the urgent need for
inquire about different aspects of
Jewish education in the former
how Judaism is practiced in America
SoViet Union. Called Yeshiva and
and Israel. Unfortunately, we only
University Students for the Spiritual
had time to touch upon limited
Revival of Soviet Jewry, YUSS-R was
aspects of the yom tov and the
founded by a grOup of students
Haggada: lighting candles, making
who began teaching Torah in the
Kiddush, discussing chometz,
former USSR:
karpas, maror, slavery, the four sons,
With no organizational backing
and, of course, eating the meal. It
or support, these young men and
was amazingly moving to watch Jews
women created Jewish summer
engage their religion and people
camps for a segment of the Jewish
after so many years of separation.
population that, for eight decades,
was deprived of Jewish education.
Ardent Religious Desire
YUSSR now runs yeshiva learning
Despite the tremendous economic
programs, summer and winter
and
political turmoil that this region
camps for 400 children each year,
constantly
finds itself in, I found an
family holiday celebrations, a
incredibly passionate and fervent
Sunday school, youth groups and
religious desire in this generation of
Shabbat programs.
Jewish
youth who are seeking out
YUSSR maintains and runs its
their
roots,
identity and traditions.
activities through the Lauder Lech-
Saturday
night, we left Slutsk
Lecha Youth Center in Minsk,
and
spent
a
couple
of days touring.
Belarus, which is the center for
I
was
fortunate
to
see
some famous
YUSSR activities in the former
historical
religious
sites,
such as the
Soviet Union. Directing the staff at
Mir Yeshiva and Rav Chaim's
the youth center is a young
Yeshiva in Volozhyn as well as the
American living year-round in
Vilna Gaon's shul in Vilna,
Belarus. YUSSR has an overseas
Lithuania. I also visited the graves
director in Israel to ensure that
of
Rav Samson Rafael Hirsch, the
recent immigrants from the former
Stoliner
Rebbe and the Rothschilds.
Soviet Union are provided with fur-
Over
the
past few weeks, many
ther opportunities for Jewish
people have approached me and
growth.
asked about the circumstances of
Jewish life in the various cities I vis-
College Caravan
ited. The cities of Belarus are
This past Pesach, I was fortunate to
impoverished. The average family's
join YUSSR'S group of 35 college
weekly salary is less than the aver-
volunteers who traveled to Belarus.
age American child's allowance.
We helped Jews make Pesach in
Jews in Belarus can barely afford to
seven cities: Bobruisk, Borisov,
buy food during the week, let alone
Grodno, Moghilev, Slutsk, Orsha
matzot and wine for a Pesach seder.
and Minsk.
-
The elderly members of the com-
Upon arriving in Belarus, I was
munities live in the most difficult
sent with three other "Project
of circumstances because their
Pesach" volunteers to Slutsk to help
miniscule pensions do not cover
the Jewish community there pre-
their necessary medications.
pare for the holiday. The four of us
My own synagogue, the Young
spent Monday through Wednesday,
Israel of Southfield, Rabbi
cleaning and kashering [making
Elimelech Goldberg and several of
kosher] the kitchen. The meals
my family and friends gave dona-
were prepared with salami brought
tions to the YUSSR program that
from America and eggs and pota-
allowed me to cover the costs of
toes bought at the local market. We
this fantastic journey.
also spent this time deciding which
As we prepare to celebrate the
dvar Torah [Torah lesson or discus-
"conclusion" of the freedom holiday
sion] we were going to share with
with the giving of our Torah, I, for
the community during the sederim
one, will be able to see the connec-
[Pesach seders].
tion between true liberty and being
More than 60 men, women and
a part of the Jewish people and our
children joined us each evening. In
Torah.

.

RANDY MODELL
Special to the Jewish News

Top: Randy Modell uses a nearby river for "tovel-
ing" dishes to make them kosher for Passover.

Above: Students from Yeshiva and University
Students for the Spiritual Revival of Soviet Jewry
(YUSSR) made sure these Jews in Slutsk in the for-
mer Soviet Union had a seder this year.

oday the Jewish people
are celebrating the holi-
day of Shavuot, known
as the holiday of atzeret,
Or "conclusion." Shavuot, celebrat-
ing God's giving of the Torah,
actually concludes the freedom hol-
iday of Pesach (Passover). Jewish
freedom was incomplete until we
received our eternal connection to
God some 50 days later.
With the fall of the Iron Curtain
a decade ago, Jews in Russia
became free — free to practice
Judaism and free to learn Torah.
However, because their practice of
Judaism was restricted for so long

Randy Modelh 21, of Southfield is a
senior at Yeshiva University in New
York City

.

❑

6/9

2000

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