Reflections on Pesach in St Petersburg

So now it's all over, and I'm back in Israel reflecting on what was an amazing experience.

Back in December I went to speak to Alex Kagan (director of FSU Programming for the WUPJ) about the fact that I wanted to go to Russia to help a community, his response was simply: "Nu Yalah" (So come on). I'm not sure that I actually thought it would really happen, but thanks to him, Debbie Pulik and the enthusiasm of Rabbi Michael Farbman, I was able to turn this trip into a reality. Of course none of it would have been possible without the communities and individuals who supported me financially, so I am very grateful to all of them.

In June, when I was in Moscow for the WUPJ conference, I was inspired by the development of Progressive Judaism there. Having returned and been involved with it on a grass roots level I am even more impressed than before. At certain points, in the synagogue or at the Shorashim school, I was struck by the fact that just over 15 years ago these people were living under a communist system, unable to fully express their Judaism. There has been a tremendous explosion of Jewish culture and practice in the FSU as a whole, and in St Petersburg in particular. In the course of six days I was involved in 2 Shabbat services and 10 Sedarim (5 at the synagogue and 5 at the school), how many Progressive communities around the world can claim to have been involved in so much activity over Pesach?

When I spoke to the community at the Kabbalat Shabbat service, I talked about the fact that we as a Jewish people are basically one big family, spread across the world. The way that the entire Jewish world rallies around communities in need is truly incredible, and one of the things which we, as Jews, should be most proud of. Despite the fact that we may live many miles apart, separated by more than just language, we still maintain a link which is built on blood, and our shared family heritage.

While in St Petersburg, I was treated as a member of the family by everyone that I met in the Progressive community. Although there was obviously a language barrier, in a mix of broken English and sign language, I was able to communicate with many members of the community, who just wanted to say hello and have a little chat. On the one day when I worked from the synagogue office, in four hours, I was offered more food and drink than I could have managed in the entire trip. In terms of the community I must make mention of Yuri, Masha, Zanna and Zina, all of whom took excellent care of me, guaranteeing that my Jewish mother had nothing to worry about.

While the St Petersburg Progressive Community made me feel part of their family, Rabbi Michael, Olga, Samuel and Robert welcomed me into their home and made me feel completely welcome, and looked after me - which is very important when you're in a country and can't speak the language. I could not have asked for better hosts, and I think that the St Petersburg community is very lucky to have the Farbman family to lead them forward.

I hope that I was able to give something to the St Petersburg community, because I am definitely taking a lot away with me. Although we often characterise it as a one-way street when it comes to working with the FSU (we in the 'west' are helping the FSU community to develop), the traffic is definitely moving in both directions. I am definitely richer for having spent the week there, and I am aware of how lucky I was to have had the opportunity to spend Pesach in St Petersburg, but I think that it is important that trips like this aren't a one-off. We need to explore ways for Jewish communities around the world to share skills and expertise so as to support each other, and help each other to grow and develop. It says in the Talmud: "Kol Yisrael aravin zeh bazeh" - "All Israel are responsible one for the other." We must help the Jewish communities in the FSU, and at the same time, we will see that they can really help us.

Once again I must say an enormous thank you to my sponsors: West London Synagogue, North Western Reform Synagogue, Kol Chai Hatch End Jewish Community, Edgware and District Reform Synagogue, South West Essex and Settlement Reform Synagogue and Rabbi Danny Rich.

Monday's sedarim, and the answers to the Pesach Pub Quiz

So, after three sedarim on Monday, it was back to the Shorashim school for three more sedarim to finish of the programme. (I have included more photos on the website from Sunday and Monday's sedarim).

In the morning, it was just Rabbi Michael and myself, with a class of 12/13 year olds - unfortunately, as I feel the need to be honest, this didn't go excellently. But despite the children's best efforts to be disruptive and uncooperative, we managed to get through a bit of the seder, and we even heard from them, at the time of Halach Ma'anya, who they would invite to their ideal seder. (I believe that Rabbi Michael actually received a letter from the class apologising for their behaviour).

All I will say is I am pleased this was not the last seder, as the next two were great.

After this, we were in the big hall with classes 1-4. Although a couple of the sedarim had been big, looking out at a hall with over 100 children is still quite a daunting prospect. We didn't attempt to go through the whole seder with them (in the room and with those numbers it would have been pretty difficult). So insteasd we took them on an interactive seder experience, which included travelling back in time, in our very own time machine, meeting Abraham, Sarah and their family, and then bargaining with Pharoah to free the Israelites (we even acted out some of the plagues). It was fantastic working with children of about 6-10, they are so enthusiastic, so ready to learn, and take part, virtually everything is possible.

After that there was one more seder, it was the home straight, and this one was going to involve every member of the team (Rabbi Michael, Julia, David, Josh, Zina, Zanna and myself), that's a pretty big team for a class seder. But it was really nice for all of us to be involved, as we'd been working together in various ways for the last week, but this was the first seder we were all able to do together. It was great, we had really developed an understanding so that each person knew when to take the lead, and when to let someone else come to the front. I got a little demob happy, and sang along with a bit more gusto than usual. It was a great seder to finish the programme with.

Obviously this concludes the posts about the sedarim and actual activites. But I feel it would be remiss of me not to write a little bit about St Petersburg, and not to write some final thoughts. So these blogs will be following soon.

And finally (hopefully it encouraged you to keep reading) here are the answers to the Pesach Pub Quiz Questions:

Numbers Round:
1 49
2 40
3 5
4 127
5 13

Names Round:
1 Esau
2 Osnat
3 Abraham
4 Pharoah’s daughter
5 Aaron
6 Nachshon

Back in Israel - but so much to still tell you about

So I am back now in Israel, after almost 20 hours of travelling (Rabbi Michael's house to the train station, the train from St Petersburg to Moscow, a taxi to another train station, a train to the airport, a wait of about three and a half hours in the airport, a four hour plane back to Ben Gurion, and then a taxi back to my flat in Jerusalem - I'm getting tired just writing about it).

There is a lot still to write about, and rather than do it in one single blog, I will try to spread it out over a couple of posts (hopefully posting one a day for the next couple of days).

So I promised you more about the three sedarim on Sunday. The morning began with the religion school at the Synagogue. It has only been running for a few months, but there were over twenty children there, spread across the ages, with some even preparing for bnei mitzvah. I am still blown away by the amount of Jewish life in that city, and the Progressive Synagogue in particular. Rabbi Michael and Olga are doing a truly fantastic job.

The seder was very sweet, and the children really seemed to be enjoying themselves, it was also nice as quite a few parents were also around to take part in bits of the seder. On a personal level, it was also nice that the HUC students (Josh, Julia and David) and Zina returned from their Shabbat in Murmansk, to be involved with the seder.

After that seder it was time for the Moreshet seder, which involved a few youth groups from the city, including some of the students who had attended sedarim at the Shorashim school on our first day. I really enjoyed this seder, but I have to admit that I was completely exhausted by the time it was finished. They were a really good group, and one of the things which I tried was to give everyone a question mark card to allow for questions throughout the seder, it definitely encouraged them to ask questions about a variety of elements of the seder which I had not ever fully considered.

It was then onto the evening and the Netzer seder, I thought that I was going to collapse, but somehow I got another wind, and it proved to be a really enjoyable evening. The young adult community is so enthusiastic about their Judaism, and so curious, that there was no shortage of questions for Rabbi Michael, and us to answer during the seder.

One of the things which we did was the Pesach Pub Quiz, in place of the Magid section, so here are a selection of some of the questions so that you too can take part:

The Numbers Round:
1 How many days are there in the Omer?
2 How many years were the Jews in the wilderness?
3 How many Books of Torah are there?
4 How old was Sarah when she died?
5 At what age was Ishmael circumcised?

The Names Round:
1 What was the name of Jacob's brother?
Ishmael, Esau, Bilam, Dimitri
2 What was the name of Joseph's wife?
Osnat, Keturah, Rachel, Sarah
3 Who is the wandering Aramean?
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph
4 Who named Moses?
Miriam, Pharaoh’s daughter, Mom, Aaron
5 Who was the First High Priest?
Moses, Joshua, Aaron, Michael Farbman
6 Who was the first into the Red Sea (according to the midrash)?
Samuel, Nachshon, Joshua, Moses,

I will put the answers in the next post.

Until then, Shabbat Shalom,

Danny

Wow, how much can you fit into 24 hours?

Unfortunately I am going to have to be very quick as we are just clearing up from the last Seder, and there is not a lot of time (and I'm not sure when I'll next be by the computer), so here goes.

Shabbat morning: Dvar Torah and reading from Torah. I read Shemot 33:12-23, the special reading for the Shabbat during Pesach. I also spoke about the chutzpah of Moses asking to see God, and the clever way in which he protects the people, by focussing on his own special relationship with God.

Shabbat afternoon: A Shabbat walk around the city, it is very cold here.

Sunday morning: Religion school, this included another seder (number 5), which was really lovely. There was an excellent make your own 10 Plague mobile game in the middle run by David, Julia and Josh - I drew an excellent frog, even if I do say so myself. I also got to listen to a few of the bnei mitzvah students practice their portions - they were very good.

We got under an hour for lunch before another seder (number 6), this time with the Moreshet youth group, between the ages of 14 and 16. I had a great time, but I almost collapsed at the end, singing "Hallelu Hallelu Hallelu Hallelu ... Halleluyah" (I hope you know what I'm talking about) was tiring and then "Echad Mi Yodeah" with movements was exhausting. But it was great fun, they really enjoyed themselves, and I had a good time, with Zina and Zanna, excellent translators.

Then, rather than stop, it was straight into the Netzer seder for the 18-25s with a Pesach Pub Quiz for the Magid section.

It means that the running total is 7 sedarim, with 3 more scheduled tomorrow. At this rate I should be exempt from Pesach for about a decade.

I hope to write more soon, with lots more about today's three sedarim.

I also learnt today, that every time I've said "Dosvedanya" when taking a drink, thinking it was like "cheers" or "l'chaim" it really meant goodbye, which explains why every0ne was laughing. Not with me, but at me.

My first sermon in Russian

I don't think you know hospitality until you come to Shaarei Shalom in St Petersburg. I spent yesterday working in the office, and literally every fifteen minutes one of the team would poke their head around the corner, and offer me tea, coffee, juice, or food. And then when I'd get up to go and get it, they would insist that I stay put while they went to provide for my every need.

I spent the day preparing sedarim, Torah readings and a few other things.

Then in the evening during the Kabbalat Shabbat service, it was time for my first sermon in Russian. Well I still gave the sermon in English, but I had Rabbi Michael translating it for the community.

I was tempted to include the sermon here, but I think that some of the comments (and dare I say jokes) only work with in the Russian, or at least with the Russian translator.

I chose to talk about the additional paragraph which we add to the Amidah, as with much of the Amidah, the entire paragraph is in the we form. We stand before God as one people on festivals, and to make sure God doesn't forget this, we even state: "remember your people Israel before you". There is something special about the fact that across the world, on festivals, we Jews affirm our unity as one people.

I was especially struck by the fact that for me festivals are a time for family to come together, and although this year I am spending Pesach away from my family, I really feel that I have been made a part of Rabbi Michael's family and the wider St Petersburg Jewish family. In fact I would suggest that the additional paragraph, which we add to the Amidah, is a way for the entire Jewish family to come together. We bypass both space and time in the recitation of these words, and the assertion that together we all stand as one before God.

Being in Russia has once again reminded me of what it means to be a part of the Children of Israel. Why is it that so often we are referred to as the Children of Israel? I honestly think it is to remind us that every Jew is our distant cousin, somewhat removed, but still a member of this one, very special, family.

Another day, another Seder

When I left you yesterday we had just completed two sedarim at the Shorashim school (we're still on Wednesday), and I was exhausted! So for a final chametz meal before the start of Pesach, Rabbi Michael, Josh, Julia, David, Zina and myself went to the sushi restaurant next to the hotel. It was just what the doctor ordered (although I didn't need the waitress to spill soya sauce all over my shirt, I only have three smart ones with me).

After this we moved on to the new JDC building in the city, a fantastic new Jewish community centre, and the location for the Shaarei Shalom communal seder. It was interesting to see the other side of Rabbinic work, which involves schlepping tables and chairs to make sure that everything was ready for when the community arrived. We all lent a hand, and I definitely think that a course on maximising space when setting up a room would be a welcome addition to the College curriculum.

The room gradually filled until 80 people had come to join in the seder celebrations. So many of them wanted to say hello, and in a combination of broken English, very very bad Russian (mine) and hand gestures we communicated a little bit. Some even came back for a second conversation.

Rabbi Michael ran a fantastic seder, and we were able to lend a hand with the Maggid section, and a very interactive 10 plagues experience. My seder at home will definitely be more lively after this year's experience.

It was an excellent day, so much so that when I returned to the hotel, in the time between being asked to turn out the light (the switch is by my bed), and turning it out, I actually fell fast asleep.

Thursday began with Shacharit at the Synagogue, which was a really lovely service, and it was nice to begin to recognise a few of the people. This was followed by an excellent lunch at Rabbi Michael and Olgas' home. The whole community, with them in particular, have been so welcoming that I have been really touched by how nice everyone has been.

In the evening it was time for the English language communal seder (there is a quite significant community of expatriates in the city). It made a change to be able to understand everything that was going on. I was pleased to be able to support Rabbi Michael at the seder, and I had a great time playing with the children, and they in turn did a great job afflicting everyone with plagues, I don't think anyone escaped without receiving a couple of boils.

And now it's Friday morning, and I'm preparing a sermon for tonight, a Torah reading for tomorrow, a Netzer activity for tomorrow evening and a Netzer seder for Sunday night - at least I'm not too busy.

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you, I also learnt that I even need a translation to understand animals. In Russian a dog doesn't "woof" or "bark" it goes: "gav, gav" (it's amazing what you can learn during Chad Gadya).

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach

(Photos have now been added to the photo page, so please try and visit)

Three Sedarim and it's only the first day!

I am now writing to you from St Petersburg, and it seems strange after months of planning to have finally arrived here.

We have just finished the Shacharit service for the first day of Pesach, and already I've been involved with three sedarim; I would love to write about all of them now, but I only have a couple of minutes on the computer, so I'll have to be brief (more will follow).

After a relaxing morning on Wednesday, together with Julia, Josh and David, I was thrown straight into the lions den, with our task being to run a seder for 15-17 year olds, in a cramped classroom, in 40 minutes. And if that wasn't enough we were going to have to repeat the feat twice.

The first seder was an interesting experience, I think when we planned it we must have forgotten the fact that we were working with a translator (Zina, a real superstar), and everything we wanted to say would therefore take twice as long. They were definitely a challenging group, who were more interested in the food than what we had to say, but they definitely learnt a little bit, and they looked like they were having fun.

I'm now thinking of the first seder as a test run for the second one, which was an excellent experience. With a five minute break to re-group between the sederim, we were ready and raring to go. We sang (Mah Nishtana, Dayenu, and Echad Mi Yodeah), we ate (carpas, matza and the Hillel sandwich), we drank (four cups of grape juice), we laughed (together at the four children, them at our poor attempts at Russian, and us when they were tearing the classroom apart looking for the afikoman), and we learnt (why the Jews left Egypt).

I will write soon about the first night seder at the community, but thanks to help of Samuel Farbman (Rabbi Michael's son) I can now count up to four in Russian: adin, dvah, trie, chiteera. Maybe by next time I'll be able to reach seven!

All my bags are packed...

Well they're almost packed, at least the clothes are laid out on my bed ready to go into my suitcase.

Over the course of today and yesterday I have spoken with Rabbi Michael Farbman and the three HUC students that I will be working with in St Petersburg for a significant amount of time there (Josh, Julia and David).

So, my schedule looks like including: the big communal seder, the english-language seder on the second night, a big seder for the Netzer (youth movement) group and about seven sedarim in schools for all ages. Alongside this I will also be running a couple of sessions for the Netzer group and the young adults, as well as helping Rabbi Farbman with the Kabbalat Shabbat and Shacharit Shabbat services. I'm certainly not going to be bored!

I find it amazing that there are so many activities and events for me to be involved in, it is a real testament to the rebirth of Jewish life in Russia, and the Former Soviet Union.

The next time I write will hopefully be from St Petersburg, I look forward to having you join me on my journey...

A Timely Insight

This Monday in my class on Medieval Biblical Commentators, Rabbi Ben Hollander, the teacher, decided to give a shiur (lesson) about the Exodus from Egypt, in preparation for Pesach. It was a very interesting lesson.

I find it fascinating that the Book of Exodus, and the story of our people's departure from Egypt begins with the first act of civil disobedience in the Torah, when Shifra and Puah, the Hebrew midwives, rebel against Pharoah's command, refusing to kill the Israelite babies.

However, while the content of the lesson was interesting, I was struck by the story Rabbi Hollander told of visiting Russia, when it was still the Soviet Union. He told us of being warned by the deputy manager of the hotel to stop meeting people (ie. Jews and Refuseniks) and to concentrate on seeing the sites (like the Hermitage in St Petersburg).

While a lot has changed with the fall of communism, I think it is very important that Jews around the world do not stop campaigning and working for the Jews of Russia. He went to visit at a time when the Jews needed support against Soviet oppression, I will be visiting at a time when the Jews need support in learning about and practicing their Judaism.

I feel really privileged to have the opportunity to visit St Petersburg and to help the Progressive Jewish community there, and I am really grateful to all of my funders, and the World Union for Progressive Judaism for helping to organise this trip. It is amazing that a Jewish community in one part of the world is so ready to help another community on the other side of the world, simply because they are also Jews. It may sound corny, but there really is one Jewish family!

I hope that when I'm in St Petersburg there will be no deputy hotel managers telling me to concentrate on seeing the sites, as I am much more excited about meeting the people, afterall, they're family.