Posted on 04/26/2005 10:07:26 AM PDT by Alouette
MOSCOW, Russia – Hundreds of thousands of Jews across the Former Soviet Union are on the verge of celebrating Passover in great festive tradition thanks to a mass campaign carried out by the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS. A total of 437 FJC member communities across fifteen former Soviet republics will mark this week-long holiday both at home and at mass public Seders.
Dozens of communities have conducted seminars to help Jewish community Chairmen to lead public Passover Seders, the first of which has peculiarities since it coincides with Shabbat, as well as offering training and instruction for people who wish to hold their own family Seder at home, including for those who are homebound. In the lead-up to the holiday, many communities have also taken initiative to ensure that Jewish inmates in local prisons have the knowledge and opportunity to mark Passover at their facilities.
The FJC's Passover campaign, coordinated in conjunction with the Moscow and regional offices of the Ohr Avner Foundation, has delivered about 1.2 million pounds of matzah and 250,000 bottles of wine to Jewish communities, large and small. This figure has been topped up by donations collected through the FJC's website campaign and contributions made by local donors, as well as a mass shipment of matzah for Jews of Lithuania by the U.S.-based B. Manischewitz Company.
The FJC has made a concerted effort to facilitate the distribution of kosher food products used in making Passover dishes, including four tons of salt, six tons of sugar, and 15,000 bottles of cooking oil. Jewish communities will also receive 10 tons of hand-made matzah shmura.
Other facets of the Passover campaign involve the production and distribution of 125,000 Passover brochures and newspaper campaigns to increase awareness and knowledge about Passover among the public, including Jews who otherwise might not search out such information. In Moscow, the Jewish community also launched a Passover billboard campaign. Many Chabad Lubavitch emissaries and community Chairmen have also taken to the airwaves, on radio and TV, to promote knowledge about and share the spirit of Passover.
Numerous Jewish communities have organized Passover camps for Jewish children. Some are being held for the first time ever, while others already constitute an annual tradition. This initiative is helping children and youth to fully observing Passover in a way that, for many families in the post-Soviet sphere, would otherwise not be possible.
Approximately 200 rabbinical students from the U.S.A. and Israel are visiting Jewish communities in the CIS and Baltic countries, thanks to a collaborative initiative between the FJC CIS and Lubavitch World Headquarters. These youth leaders paired up with at least 200 students attending local yeshivot to bring Passover to Jews far and wide, many of their destination communities are without a resident Rabbi.
The FJC Passover campaign has been made possible thanks to the sponsorship of Mr. Lev and Olga Leviev of the Ohr Avner Foundation, the Rohr Family Foundation of NY and Florida, as well as thousands of North American and local donors who responded to the FJC Passover Appeal.
Through their generosity, hundreds of thousands of Jews throughout the Former Soviet Union will also be able to enjoy the gift and heritage of what is the Passover holiday.
A billboard in front of the Kremlin, posted as part of FJC's Passover awareness campaign, offers information on where to purchase Matzah.
I am proud to admit that three of my sons are spending Passover in Moscow. Of course I miss having them at the family table, but they are doing good work over there.
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