The Maccabees do Siberia
American Joint, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews launch annual Hanukkah project in former Soviet Union states, meant to strengthen local Jewish communities' bond with tradition
The various activities, said to take place in the Jewish centers across the Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Azerbaijan and other former USSR states, are meant to help Jewish families to celebrate the holiday according to the Jewish tradition and bolster their sense of Jewish identity.
Parents and children will be able to take part in candle lighting ceremonies, cook-offs of traditional holiday foods, lectures and games – focusing on all things Hanukkah.
The partnership between the Joint and the IFCJ will also allow its associates to reach out to congregation members who are unable to leave their homes – the elderly, ill, and disabled – and help them celebrate the Festival of Lights.
For many, this may be the first encounter with the holiday and its traditions. The activities are scheduled to spread across the Hanukkah's eight days.
The IFCJ, headed by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, and the joint have been cooperating on various ventures for a number of years now. So far, some 28,000 at-risk children have enjoyed their programs, which cost about $6 million a year.
