Easing Out of Overdrive

Local participants welcome the groups from Israel and the US.

Understandably, I've been in overdrive for the last two weeks, gearing up for Pesach Project. The last seven days have flown by, packed and overflowing with activity and meaning. Each day was better than the next, and without a doubt, this past week has been the highlight of my year in St. Petersburg. Here are some of the most memorable moments from this past week:

• Two of the small groups coordinated a spirited and joyous first night seder (dedicated to the 3 kidnapped and missing Israeli soldiers from last summer) for the group at YESOD. The maggid portion of the seder was a skit portraying a modern day exodus from Egypt. Pharoah had a cell phone and two bodyguards who looked like they were lifted from The Matrix!

• Many of the participants were touched by the mini-seders to the children and young adults with special needs, as well as the home visits to the elderly. One group who had a teacher in the group brought drawings from her students; the young adult they visited was artistic and appreciated the gesture so much that she in turn gave the group a piece of her artwork to take back to the US.
  

• Community organization seders were also very moving, especially the one provided to Adain Lo Tikvateinu program for young adults with special needs, where the seder was followed by a lively round of dancing, singing and playing a variation on "hot potato" using a giant, blow-up matza ball!

• We watched a documentary on the Siege of Leningrad, visited the Memorial to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad and participated in a touching and solemn memorial ceremony organized by a handful of our participants. During the ceremony, the stories of two young girls were juxtaposed -- Anne Frank and a young girl who lived through the Siege of Leningrad.
  

• On Saturday night, before Shabbat ended, we visited Cafe im Mashmaut (Coffee with Meaning) at JAFI's center, where we "ate and drank" from modern Israeli texts and partook in lively discussions in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.
  

• The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm the day everyone arrived. But the participants also got to see "classic" St. Petersburg weather -- it snowed on Wednesday and was gray and cold today. For some of our Israeli participants, it was the first time they had seen snow!

Meeting and getting to know everyone in our group was really the most rewarding part of the Pesach Project. Some of our participants brought with them entire chapters of Jewish history -- three of our participants (2 from Cleveland and 1 from Tsachar) were born in the FSU and emigrated in the early 90s. The two from Cleveland have a beautiful story -- he was born in Baku and she in Tashkent. They met in high school in Cleveland, shortly after they arrived. They've been married for 5 years and have 2 young boys at home. Needless to say, the energy and enthusiasm all 3 of them brought to the trip added tremendously to everyone else's experience.

As we drove to the airport yesterday afternoon, I wondered aloud how I'll fill my time now that the Pesach Project is over. Matt quickly reached into his backpack and pulled out a handwritten letter. It was a sweet way for him to tell me how proud he was of me, but also to give me ideas for enjoying my recreation time over the next few months! (I admit that I'm really bad at relaxing and need all the help I can get!)

Now it's back to reality -- we have to cook our meals, take out the trash, etc. Just this morning, I was rudely reminded that I'm no longer in my happy little Pesach Project bubble, when a babushka knocked on our door to deliver some tickets to us. When I opened the door, she immediately started yelling at me that our apartment number isn't on the door and how was she supposed to find us?! After a few minutes of this verbal barrage, I asked her if she had our tickets, said thank you, and proceeded to close the door in her face. Just in case I had forgotten, she wanted to remind me that I live in Russia.

Despite the disappointment that follows any big project or event, I am filled with satisfaction in knowing that I helped create a powerful Pesach experience for everyone involved -- including myself.

Matt and I demonstrate how to make a Hillel sandwich at first night seder.