Ms. Godik stated
that the UUJS data base includes 2,000 names.
In response to a question, she said that most activists had been on Taglit
(birthright Israel) trips to Israel, but few had participated in a MASA Israel
program. UUJS would like to organize its
own Taglit tours, she said.
Current UUJS
leadership includes individuals from Kyiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia, Ms. Godik
responded to a question; however, a group of about five people in Kyiv actually
make most decisions. UUJS has no permanent
office. "Our office is my computer,"
said Ms. Godik, who added that the leadership group shares information by e-mail. A number of different Jewish organizations
provide program venues as needed, Ms. Godik stated.
She mentioned the Jewish Agency, the Jewish Fund of Ukraine, Nativ, and the
Kyiv Jewish Community as the primary organizations that have accommodated UUJS programs.
80.
Building on the original STARS (Student Torah Alliance for Russian Speakers)
concept, Rabbi Motti Neuwirth, who is associated with Chief Rabbi Yaakov
Dov Bleich and the Great Choral Synagogue on Schekavitskaya street in the Podil
area of Kyiv, is constructing a new Jewish education program for Kyiv Jewish young
adults. Within the past year, Rabbi Neuwirth
obtained $80,000 for renovation of largely empty space in the basement of the synagogue
community building into a Jewish student center. Known as Morasha
(Heb., heritage, legacy), the Center is small, but clean, modern, and
well-furnished. Kosher refreshments are available. Its focus is on high-quality programs for Jewish
students and young adults.
Morasha will pursue programs in several different
directions concurrently, said Rabbi Neuwirth.
The first is Jewish education at several different levels; some courses will
be designed for prospective converts. The
center also will offer social programs, such as a Jewish film club, Jewish cooking
classes, and perhaps even guitar lessons.
A third direction will be welfare-oriented and will include baking challah for needy
Jews, visiting homebound Jewish elderly, and other welfare tasks.
Fourth, Morasha will offer programs in personal development, including coaching,
public speaking, and foreign languages. Another
direction will offer Jewish-content trips and adventures, including trips to Israel,
travel to Venice for Shabbat, etc.
Finally, said Rabbi Neuwirth, Morasha will offer networking opportunities
for young people in business and various professions.
Rabbi Mordechai Neuwirth, who directs
student and young adult programs for Chief Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, originally focused
on graduates of Jewish day schools, but now works with a much broader constituency.
Photo: the writer.
One key to the entire
program, acknowledged Rabbi Neuwirth, is the engagement of leaders and instructors
who are talented and possess strong teaching skills.
Another key. he continued, will be the issuance of membership cards so that
some control can be maintained over access to the Center and its programs.
He hopes that arrangements can be made with certain merchants, including
gas station owners, to offer discounts for cardholders.
Third, all participants will pay at least 30 percent of the cost of the programs
in which they enroll; those who are fully employed will pay more.
The former STARS
program exists, but in two offshoots that might not be recognized by the founders
of STARS. The first is called Torah and Sushi;
30 to 40 young professionals gather once weekly for a discussion of the weekly Torah
portion and current events through a Jewish lens.
The atmosphere is warm, with substantial socializing, said Rabbi Neuwirth. This group also holds its own seder; at $15
per person, their seder is more expensive than many other seders, Rabbi Neuwirth
stated, but he finds that young professionals are maturing and demand quality that
can be attained only by higher fees.
The second STARS-related
program, which Rabbi Neuwirth called STARS Intensive, is residential in structure. Three men or a married couple move into one
of three apartments owned by the synagogue and participate in synagogue- and apartment-based
learning and worship programs for 40 hours every week, including Shabbat.
While engaged in this intensive educational experience, they maintain their
regular jobs; in response to a question, Rabbi Neuwirth said that fields of outside
employment to date include education, entertainment, factory work, and auto mechanics. Obviously, he continued, only serious people
are asked to join this program; candidates are vetted and invited to join.
Women, he said, have a somewhat less intensive learning experience, but they
engage in social welfare work instead of certain classes taught only to men. The program also includes a one-month Israel
module and a stipend. STARS Intensive probably
will grow, Rabbi Neuwirth stated, as soon as they acquire another apartment; in
fact, two more candidates have been identified, but the synagogue lacks housing
for them.
His young adult
initiative currently attracts about 400 people whose levels of involvement
in various programs ranges from marginal to intensive.
His target is 2,000 young Jews, Rabbi Neuwirth said.
Life in Kyiv
is tough
now, stated Rabbi Neuwirth. Many people are
unemployed, many who are working are struggling.
Certainly, many are unable to afford kosher food or to celebrate Jewish holidays. He has considered initiating a job development
program, but such an initiative is too complex for him now.
Rabbi Neuwirth said
that the original STARS program, with its emphasis on stipends for mere attendance,
cheapens Jewish education and the goal of Jewish literacy.
The only program under his supervision that currently carries a stipend is
STARS Intensive because it makes so many demands on its participants.
81.
The Galitzky Synagogue, constructed in 1909-1910, was used as a dining
hall for a railroad equipment factory for much of the Soviet and early post-Soviet
era. In 2001, after the factory began to
decline under free market conditions, the synagogue was handed over to the
Union of Jewish Religious Organizations of Ukraine (Об’єднання
іудейських релігійних
організацій Украіни),
an organization that operates under the auspices of Chief Rabbi Yaakov Bleich. Negotiations for this transfer extended over
several years.
Extensive renovation
of the structure was supported by the Jewish Agency for Israel with a commitment
from Rabbi Bleich that programs within the synagogue would be conducted according
to religious Zionist philosophy. The Israeli
and Zionist presence is highly visible throughout the building.
The writer met with Rabbi Pinchas Rosenfeld,
who directs the Galitzky program, and his younger brother, Rabbi Mikhail Rosenfeld. The two brothers were born in Leningrad and
emigrated to Israel with their parents. Both
are university-educated and each became Jewishly observant on his own.
They described themselves as strongly rooted in Russian culture.
The Galitzky synagogue is a brick
structure located in an area once known as the
Jewish Bazaar.
The
prayer hall was configured to seat more than 400 people when the building was designed. The ground floor also includes a club room
and several service areas. The second floor
includes a balcony (from which this photo was taken), a single large classroom,
offices, and several small program/service areas.
The large classroom contains a significant Juda-ica library in locked, glass-fronted
bookcases.
Photos: the writer.
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