There's a First Time for Everything!

Our First Work Experience: Russian Hillel Conference

As Alyson mentioned, we arrived back from China at 10 pm Sunday night, and we were at work come 10 am the next morning. We were given 48 hours to create 6 hours worth of training for the Hillel directors of Russia. While they told us we’d have 15 students, only 9 really showed up. Where the others were, I have no idea. Rather than focus on the boring details of the session, I’m going to talk about my impressions. But to start, here are some pictures to give you a sense of our work space and audience.

Body Language is Understandable No Matter What Language You Speak

Our first session got off to a rough start. The directors were slouching, sending text messages, giggling amongst themselves: it brought back horrible memories of teaching Hebrew school. When a couple of guys teased the Hillel director from Novosibirsk because of her uniquely Siberian accent, I was saddened that these professionals, who were supposed to be models for their community, were acting like six-year-olds. While I wouldn’t call their behavior towards us “disrespectful,” since they were tired and listening through a translator is hard, it definitely presented our first obstacle and set the tone for a challenging day.

That obstacle only grew larger as our session got bogged down in a mundane topic. We wanted to start with something easy and quick, so we put programming as the first agenda item. We had no idea that we’d hit a really fascinating and intriguing chord, and dwell on it for the first three hours! The topic was “meaningful Jewish experiences,” and we wanted the directors to understand that educational programming—meaning the lectures and classes that have been staples of Russian Hillel programming to this point—have been replaced by more impactful programming focused on experiential learning. The whole exercise fell flat: we just couldn’t get them to understand that, in order to stay relevant and exciting for today’s student, Hillels must push the envelope and appeal to all five senses instead of just the student’s mind. After the session, a fellow Jewish professional let us in on an important insight:

“Hillel in America is a Grocery Store. Hillel in Russia is a Cheese Shop.”

These directors, seemingly so young an impressionable, are actually knee-deep in the post-Soviet Russian Jewish model. That model is to get students hooked by teaching the meat-and-potatoes of Jewish tradition and religion, leaving the appetizers, desserts, and other courses to other Jewish organizations. This isn’t necessarily a function of limited resources or lack of training; rather, this is a conscious decision to offer a limited selection of programming, attracting intellectually-curious students in a deep and meaningful way. On the other end of the spectrum is American Hillel, which offers a wide range of options—from sports, to dance, to drama, to parties—in an effort to attract as many students as possible. Which leads me to my second point:

Translators Should Only Be Used By Important Politicians and When The Daily Show Makes Fun of Those Politicians

Speaking through a translator is really hard; it makes you weigh every sentence carefully. In addition to not being able to translate the passion and commitment I was trying to convey, I was upset when our translator kept changing “meaningful” to “important” in her translations. It may not seem like a big deal, but it was to me. We need to learn Russian so we can communicate our own ideas effectively, but more importantly, so we can say,

“Get in Here, Have a Seat, and Pay Attention!”

Outside the classroom, I had one of the most interesting meetings of my professional career. Alyson and I joined with some other Jewish professionals from around the world for a short walk to the nearby Gulf of Finland, which is a section of the Baltic Sea. A group of us waded into the water, and discussed the ins and outs of Hillel in Russia. It became very clear that there are major changes underway here, with big announcements coming soon (so keep your eyes peeled) that will affect Jewish life here in a tangible way. But enough work—check out

Our Video from Peterhof

Peterhof was everything it was hyped up to be. The luscious gardens, the funky fountains, and the crush of Russian tourists—it made for a great experience. And going with Dov Grossman and Katie Schenk, friends of ours from DC who timed their visit perfectly with our work and personal schedule, made it all the more enjoyable.

The Fountains - A quick look at the fountains that make Peterhof so famous.

The Drinking - When we got caught in the rain, we took the opportunity to drink like the Russians. Between the three of us, we finished off a solid bottle of vodka and a herring!

The SPB Waterline - This is cool. We took the hydrofoil to and from the palace. On our return, we got a nice view of what SPB looks like from the water. Check out the cameo by the Russian couple who didn't feel like moving out of our video!

Odds and Ends



Pictures from our China trip - sorry, we took over 500, and we've been too busy to go through them. Here's a start!

Pictures from around SPB and Peterhof - The synagogue is beautiful here. Well worth seeing on your computer screen.