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Poltava Twinning Committee |
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Congregation Beth Am is proud to have teamed up with Poltava’s Beth Am in the Ukraine. As part of the World Union for Progressive Judaism’s twinning program, our two congregations work together on behalf of liberal Judaism in the Former Soviet Union.
Overview of the Poltava Committee
In many peoples' minds, the faces of the people of the Former Soviet Union are old and wizened, wise, bitter and poor. But today, we are growing new Jews in Poltava. They are young, educated and searching for their spiritual soul. Many of these young people have found their roots, established themselves with the Progressive Jewish Movement and now wait to enrich their Jewish lives by studying and finding out more about their heritage. How can you help our brothers and sisters in Poltava? Their Progressive Jewish community exists because Beth Am provides the resources to pay the rent and utilities, and salaries of their three part-time staff members. Buy Fair Trade Coffee and Help Poltava Tikkum Olam Across the Globe Be part of Congregation Beth Am’s fundraising effort to help “grow” our Jewish community in Poltava , Ukraine while helping the Ugandan Fair Trade Coffee Co-op. Profits go directly to the Poltava Fund. The Mirembe Kawomera Coffee project is a Ugandan cooperative of Jewish, Muslim and Christian coffee farmers working together to build a sustainable industry. The coffee is certified organic, Fair Trade and Kosher. One dollar of every sale goes directly to the co-op who are working towards peace, tolerance and economic justice in the region. You can buy coffee at the November 2nd Arts and Crafts Faire. The cost is $13 for a 12-ounce bag of either light, dark, pr decaf. Orders can be placed with Naomi Green at (650) 917-1252 or by printing and returning the ORDER FORM. How do you support a fledgling yet viable, Progressive Jewish congregation in the former Soviet Union? You “twin” with one, providing financial, spiritual and emotional support. As part of a joint project between the World Union for Progressive Judaism and the Jewish Agency’s Hesed Program, Beth Am of Los Altos Hills did just that in 2001. We twinned with a young congregation located in Poltava, Ukraine -- a congregation that named itself Beth Am of Poltava. Our sister congregation began with a small group of university and high school students gathering to celebrate Shabbat and other holidays. The leadership was young with extraordinary vision, enthusiasm and determination. In its short life the congregation has undergone extraordinary changes, Beth Am of Poltava now has education programs on the history of modern Israel and the philosophy of the Jewish family, interfaith dialogues, weekly Torah portion readings and discussions, a youth club, and a women’s club that holds monthly Rosh Chodesh meetings. There are English language classes, weekly Shabbat services and havdalah, Passover Seders, and other holiday celebrations. Their spiritual leader is 23-year old university student Alla Magas, shown here at Tashlikh. Alla studied Hebrew, Jewish studies, and leadership in Moscow under the auspices of the Machon Program, a two-year course conducted by the World Union for Progressive Judaism to teach students to be para-rabbinics. Twinned Congregations Celebrate Shabbat in Poltava - World Union for Progressive Judaism Newsletter Highlights Poltava The Progressive movement in Ukraine held a shabbaton for Beth Am in April 2007. The weekend included lectures and workshops that focused on the meaning ofShabbat and Torah, and was highlighted by a b'nei mitzvah ceremony and the reception of a newly donated Torah. According to Rabbi Mikhail Kapustin, one of the two World Union rabbis in Ukraine , the family-oriented shabbaton included, in some cases, three generations. The newly-elected chairman of the congregation, Anatoliy Muchnik, was there with his grandson. Founded primarily by college and high school students seeking a meaningful and egalitarian way to express their Judaism, Beth Am now has some 200 members of all ages. It offers weekly Shabbat and havdallah services, education programs, a youth group and a sisterhood. Each year it holds a Passover seder and other holiday celebrations. It is led by Alla Mahas, a graduate of the World Union's Institute for Modern Jewish Studies (Machon), which trains community workers for Progressive congregations throughout the former Soviet Union .
During services on Friday evening, the congregation received a new Torah donated by Project Kesher, the largest Jewish women'sorganization in the FSU. Says Kapustin, "The scroll was brought into the room and symbolically passed from Rima Novikova, who represents Project Kesher in Poltava , to Anatoliy Muchnik, who passed the scroll to me. I then passed it to Alla Mahas. Each of us expressed our gratitude to Project Kesher and the hope that the scroll would help the community in the future.” The next morning, five young people became b'nei mitzvah while wearing tallitot donated by Congregation Beth Am in Los Alto Hills, California , with which Poltava 's Beth Am has been twinned since 2001. "Each celebrant read a prepared passage from newly arrived scroll," says Kapustin "and gave a short drashah (sermon). Some were crying with the emotion of a very special moment, and two more people were inspired to pursue their b'nei mitzvah next year." Poltava has inherited a Torah from Kesher and has built an ark for it. Youth are seeing visions in Poltava , and the reality is visionary. Our support is making a huge difference in their lives. If you would like to join the committee, create plans for the ark, make a donation or visit Poltava on the upcoming trip, please contact Cherie Half. Cherie and Fred Half with Jackie Berman celebrated Shabbat and Purim in March 2009. They were welcomed with open arms by Alla Magas, their dynamic spiritual leader. We played, we laughed, we ate, and we prayed...... and most of all, we celebrated our Jewish heritage.
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sometimes on the verge of collapse, but miraculously becoming a full-fledged congregation of 200 members. It is a stable and visible Jewish community in a place that was bereft of one previously. And it is thriving with our help and the encouragement of Rabbi Alex Dukhovny, Chief Rabbi of the Progressive Congregations of Ukraine.
