Getting My Groove Back

I hit a really rough patch professionally in the weeks leading up to Pesach. At the time, it wasn't really blog-worthy to share that I was frustrated by a lack of progress on certain projects, and I didn't want to cloud the blog with useless negativity. As you would expect, getting work done in a foreign culture, especially in the midst of Purim and Pesach preparations, can be arduous and trying. There was a LOT going on and, even though my initiatives were put on the back burner or canceled entirely, there was still plenty to do. So I figured I should sit back, ride it out, let Pesach come and go, and then dive right back into the work.

Thankfully, this past weekend's Pesach Project Training Seminar was exactly what I needed to get my confidence back and re-focus my energy. The goals of the seminar were to help our Russian participants get "up-to-speed" when it comes to Pesach, and also help them bond with each other and their staff. Since many of the participants have very little in the way of a Jewish education, or come from families where Passover was never celebrated, it was important that they feel comfortable with the seder and the Passover story, as they will be leading seders throughout the city (together with their Israeli and American counterparts).

This was a great partnership with the local organizations, including EITAN (which focuses on Jewish education), the Jewish Agency, and Hillel. I helped push the process along, crafting an excellent agenda that not only covered all the educational bases, but also facilitated the group moving from twenty individuals to a community.

The seminar was held at a retreat center outside the city and, because it was a Friday night, we started with a Shabbat service. As the ice breaker, everyone was asked to talk about either their most memorable Shabbat experience, or their first Shabbat experience. Amazingly, many of the Russian participants talked about both simultaneously: their first Shabbat in Israel as part of the Taglit-birthright Israel experience. The philanthropists who fund that program would be floored to hear how meaningful the trip was for these students, as many of the participants talked about how they truly understood the power of Shabbat only when they celebrated it in Israel. But Israel is also a dividing force in this Jewish community: one girl named Marina talked about how, when her sister made aliyah, it made her parents very sad and now she feels the burden of being an only child. Another girl named Marina talked about how her family made aliyah, but she returned to Russia for university, and now she lives a split life between the two countries.

We learned so much from these participants -- it's amazing how much you can understand when the seminar is held in English! For example, Bella related the story of how the choosing of her name was a big debate in her family because Bella "sounds Jewish"; in fact, her grandmother still calls her grandfather by his Russan name (Misha) instead of his real name (Moshe). Seva, Olga, and Lena told about how they moved to SPB from other Russian-speaking towns, and the culture shock that they experienced coming to a big, cosmopolitan city (so we aren't alone!). Finally, one of the educators we brought to the seminar, Alisa, told us later that she over-estimated the Jewish knowledge of the participants, assuming that they would know basic things about Jewish history and finding that many of the participants are in desperate need of fundamental Jewish education. This is something that happens to us very often here in SPB, and it was good to share the feeling of surprise and confusion with a fellow educator.

There were plenty of humorous moments during the seminar. Lonya told a D'var Torah about how Pharoah's headstrong nature reminded him of his own--at an airport once, he was determined to shop, hang out, and talk to his mom before his flight. He got everything done--except the part about boarding the plane! Rabbi Michael Farbman, who is actively looking for a rabbinical job in the States, told a funny story about how he had to learn the two-letter endings of the lesser-known states: while "DC" and "NY" are pretty obvious, he's also been looking at jobs in places like "MO" and "OR." Lastly, Inna led a small revolt over a problem she saw in the PP itinerary by organizing a petition amongst the participants. I couldn't help but laugh--here was a Russian teaching the Americans about democracy!

There was one particular session that really stands out in my mind. You see, I really wanted to teach the participants how to create and present a D'var Torah--I thought this was a valuable skill that they could use for the rest of their lives. What's a D'var Torah? Well, it's a short (or long) speech that takes the current parshah or Jewish holiday and connects it to modern life in a personal, meaningful way. I knew very well that it would be hard to get the participants to understand, first of all, what a D'var Torah is; then, getting them to actually create one would be even more difficult! But after struggling through the first half-hour, they finally started to get it. As Masha told us later, "I was thinking about it and trying to understand and then, suddenly, it's like a light just turned on!" She then told a great D'var Torah about how her mother is still living in Egypt, and the struggle to adapt to and accept religious freedom in her family. Olga, who has never celebrated Passover before, talked about how the Pesach story reminds us that "timing is everything." She then told us that she had never known about her Jewish roots until, by coincidence, she saw a JDC job advertisement and asked her parents if they knew any Jews (it turns out, her grandfather was Jewish but the family had long ago decided to keep it a secret).

Looking back, what made the seminar so meaningful for me was that I felt that here was a real, tangible, and high-quality product of my work. From conception, to planning, to execution, to evaluation, I facilitated the process all the way through, and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. Alyson and I were a great team: on Saturday morning, Alyson talked about the small picture (the goals and itinerary for the Pesach Project), and then I piggy-backed by teaching about how PP fits into the big picture of philanthropy, the Federations, and the global Jewish future.

Occasionally during our eight months here, I've felt very isolated from the Jewish community, like my efforts have been ineffective or ineffectual, or that I am unable to contribute because of the language and cultural barriers. But this past weekend, I felt like I was making a real difference in giving these young people skills, knowledge, and enjoyment that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. At one point, when I finished teaching a session and sat down exhaustedly next to Alyson, she turned to me with eyes alight and reminded me, "We're doing it! We're doing it!"

Check out pictures from the seminar by clicking here.

As a last note to this long blog post, I have one more success to boast about :-) Over the past couple weeks, I arranged with the local, English-speaking American School to bring their students to YESOD to see the building, learn about Passover, and experience the matzah factory. That field trip happened this morning, with Alyson and I being the madrichim, and the school's students had a blast. Of course, we took the innocent questions that you would expect from children: "Are you Jewish?" and "Do Jews believe in Jesus?" When I asked the kids to tell me what a miracle was, one of the girls took the opportunity to list the miracles that Jesus supposedly performed. But it was great to lead another activity in English, to educate these kids about Passover, and to feel like I'm "getting my groove back" in my work here.