The Jewish Home | MAY 5, 2022 The Jewish Home | MAY 5, 2022
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eventually went to the basement which had a wine cellar within a catering hall and found a table and chairs and began our task. Within a short time, the catering hall began to fill with guests, and we realized that we were sitting amidst a Greek wedding reception with its bouzouki music and sirtaki dances. Needless to say, we could not concentrate and had to leave, although the music was truly addictive and beautiful! It took us four hours, but I managed to finish the grammen for the chosson’s side of the family. Sunday and Monday were Conference days. There were representatives from Berlin, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Cologne, Kiev, Prague, Sofia, Warsaw and Zagreb at the sessions. I brought in our rosh yeshiva from Kishinev, Rabbi Shmuel Koren, and although he did not speak English well, he knew Russian and Hebrew. Also joining us was Rabbi Jacob Bidderman from Lauder’s Business School and head Chabad shliach of Vienna. Our Sunday session was held at the Bet Am JCC, and after brief introductions, there were serious subject matters to tackle. Some of the issues were common to all the schools, while others were particular to individual schools or to the countries that they were located in. That afternoon session was very long and continued nonstop for almost four hours. In
Dinner at the Sofia Chabad; Rabbi Yossi Salomon is on the left
the evening, we had dinner at the Chabad House. On Monday morning, we visited the local Lauder School to observe classes in session. We were greeted by the student body with the traditional baskets of bread and singing. The rest of the day was occupied with workshops and sessions with only a small break for lunch. There were many themes that were being addressed at these meetings. I spoke about developing relationships between the schools and their communities through joint projects. Then we all visited the Sofia Synagogue where we were addressed by the Rosh Hakahal. In the evening, the students performed traditional Bulgarian dances
A warm welcome with traditional bread
to the accompaniment of Ladino songs and music – a program which Pesi attended. Our closing gathering was a Gala Dinner at the Beth Am JCC where we were able to express our parting thoughts about the Conference and the Lauder Foundation’s extraordinary undertaking on behalf of the small communities in Eastern Europe.
While flying back to New York the next morning, we reflected on the past six days. We agreed that we learned a lot from all the delegates and their experiences and struggles. We also heard new ideas and different approaches to similar problems that we could incorporate in our specific schools. And we also got to see Bulgaria.
Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit. He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there. Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences. Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.
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