“In every generation we must see ourselves as if we personally have come out of Egypt…” Pesachim 116b, Passover Haggadah
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, we continue to look at the events unfolding with utter disbelief. After the initial shock wore off, like so many others we responded by offering financial support to the efforts on the ground. Shortly after a call came from the JDC for Russian-speaking clergy to volunteer during Pesach, I traveled to Poland to help. Later in the summer I traveled to support the Barcelona reform community’s refugee resettlement efforts, this time as part of a father-son team with Samuel. The TE support during both of these trips has been invaluable and inspiring, the work was impactful, the connections forged were powerful.
Many of you know about these efforts already and have generously supported the work. What you may not know is that Olga has been involved in these efforts from day one as part of her work at the Jewish Federations of North America. It became crystal clear within the first few days of the war, that many Jewish organizations assisting refugees on the ground in Europe, meeting them at the borders, offering the housing, food, medical care, and mental health support to those fleeing the conflict zone, were facing the major challenge – shortage of people speaking the language. Olga was tasked with leading the Pan-American communal effort of creating Global Volunteer Hub to recruit, train, and deploy Russian/Ukrainian speaking American and Canadian volunteers in Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Czech Republic, Spain, and beyond. Olga’s phone continues to buzz day and night with messages from teams of volunteers serving all around the world, exchanging stories and pictures, offering support to each other as they serve the displaced Ukrainian refugees trying to make sense of the unfolding tragedy. For almost a year Olga’s work has been coordinating so much of this gargantuan task that she had to put on hold her personal desire to be on the ground and volunteer herself.
One year later, it is clear that the current conflict and the suffering and displacement it has unleashed is anything but temporary. We were recently blessed with the opportunity to welcome a Ukrainian family here in Connecticut, with JCARR offering its support and expertise to make this transition as smooth as possible. (Please see the interview with Morozov family in this issue of the Shofar). In fact, many of you have met the family at our Shabbat services where they have become regulars.
As we approach Pesach once again, the two of us (Olga and myself) will be traveling to Spain to support the incredible efforts of the local Jewish community and other volunteers. We will celebrate Passover seders here with our family and TE community, and then will set out to bring the message of freedom and hope to the refugees. Our professional training and years of experience in community building are very much needed. And yet, as we prepare for this journey, we are well aware that as native speakers we are best equipped to respond to the needs on the ground. We are not doing this alone – we are volunteering on behalf of everyone at Temple Emanuel. We will be sharing our journey with all of you, as I have done in the past. If you would like to support our efforts, please feel free to make a donation to Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund at TE, please mark it “Support Ukraine”.
As we celebrate our freedom at the Passover seder, may we remember those who struggle for their own.