touched when on our way home
from Russia, my daughter sug-
gested something should be
done.
Upon my return, I immedi-
ately discussed the matter with
my rabbi, the American Jewish
University and JDC.
To get things going, money
needed to be raised. Yet with the
combined efforts of my orga-
nizational and local commu-
nity partners, as well as private
funders, the Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Family Camp was soon born.
Now entering its 10th year, the
program has been nothing short
of miraculous. To date, more
than 500 people from 17 cities
have celebrated their bar and bat
mitzvah.
That is due in no small mea-
sure to the stalwart efforts of
JDC's Dr. Boris B. Boguslaysky,
who has led the program since
its inception and has coordi-
nated it in every city that it has
reached. Feedback from partici-
pants has been overwhelmingly
positive.

Meaningful Experience
"For us it's not just a ceremony;
it's something bigger than one
week or one day. It's something
that will be with us forever,"
said Iliya Kazakov, 15, from
Kemerovo, who I met on my
recent trip. Iliya is not alone.
Darina Valento, who is 15 and
also from Kemerovo, said the
experience inspired her to con-
tinue to learn Hebrew. Robert
Sherbakov of Novosibirsk, 13,
said the ceremony changed
his "point of view about being
Jewish" and made him want to
learn more about Judaism.
More than two decades after
the fall of Communism, when
Jewish life across the former
Soviet Union was nearly extinct,
the voices of Jewish young
adults and their counterparts of
all ages singing Torah are a tes-
tament to the strength and resil-
ience of the Jews in that corner
of the world. It's also proof that
the old adage is true: "It's never
too late:'

❑

* jcc maccabi*

GAMES®& ARTSFEST®

1,100 ATHLETES & ARTISTS

COACHES &

250 HOST FAMILIES

1,000 VOLUNTEERS

72 SPONSORS

320 JCC STAFF

HANK YOU

for making the
JCC Maccabi Games®
& ArtsFest a success!

Elaine Berke is a longtime leader

in the greater Los Angeles Jewish

community and a member of the

American Jewish Joint Distribution

Committee (JDC) Board of Directors.

Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building
Eugene & Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus
6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322
www.jccdet.org

The Jewish

OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT

1870780

JN

September 18 • 2014

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