By COLlive reporter
In a distant compound in the Carpathian Mountains, dozens of Jewish boys and girls who reached bar mitzvah age spent the past few days in an unconventional seminar.
For these youngsters, it marked their significant departure from home since the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out.
“In the beginning, we were very concerned,” shares Shliach Rabbi Moshe Rokhlin, and organizer on behalf of the Enerjew youth movement in the former Soviet Union, supported by the Finger Foundation.
“It is a war-torn country, and it was clear to us that many youths’ parents would be afraid to send them,” he said. “Despite that, or because of it, we decided to take on this challenge.”
Rabbi Rokhlin explains that discussions and consultations took place for weeks to determine the seminar’s location. “Chernivtsi Shluchim Rabbi Menachem Mendel and Pnina Glitzenstein decided to take the plunge, and after many efforts, they found a suitable structure in the mountainous area of the Carpathians,” adds Rabbi Rokhlin.
With the announcement of the unique seminar, which was conducted with the full support of the Meromim Foundation and under the guidance of Rabbi Chaim Friedman, Jewish boys from 12 cities in Ukraine registered: Vinnytsia, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Kamianske, Kyiv, Kramatorsk, Krupnytskyi, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, and Khmelnytskyi.
“The seminar was conducted separately for boys and girls, and each group received full attention from a team of male and female instructors who came specifically for this,” Rabbi Rokhlin expands.
“The fact that they were at the bar mitzvah age made us prepare in a special way, with a comprehensive enrichment program for the coming-of-age milestone. In fact, the summer camp concludes a long period of bar mitzvah studies that began in winter through a unique curriculum we prepared in advance.”
During the seminar, run by R’ Dovid Koplik and R’ Yaakov Yakimenko with the assistance of the Finger Foundation, the bar mitzvah boys received an exquisite pair of tefillin, while the girls received a pair of pure silver candlesticks.
“The boys and girls whose parents were hesitant to send them received the gift by mail. They shouldn’t miss out on the experience imposed upon them,” Rabbi Rokhlin said.
Despite the remote location, occasional alarms were heard there as well. “On one of the days, it caught them during evening prayers, and we all immediately rushed to the shelter,” describes Rabbi Rokhlin. “The reality of the war accompanies these youngsters day after day. It can be said that they have been enduring the war for a year and a half already, so a summer camp like this holds significant importance.
“The seminar, which included a rich and enjoyable celebration, also allowed many Jewish boys to meet Jewish boys their age for the first time. It was very touching. Many friendships and connections were formed among Jewish youngsters, and it was a wonderful thing.”
