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February 5, 1999/19 Shevat 5759, Vol. 51, No. 19
Out of hiding
Program brings Judaism back to Russian communities
Valley woman joins efforts to reunite people with their culture and religion
MICHELLE ACKERMAN
Staff Writer
Robyn Amster (center) smiles for the camera with some of her Jewish Day School students at December's Hanukkah party in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.
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"Thank you," a 27-year-old Russian woman whispers. "Thank you so much for just being here and taking the time to care about what goes on in our little city in the middle of nowhere, and to help us."
The woman was talking to Robyn Amster, a 23-year-old Phoenix resident who is spending almost a full year of her life helping to reestablish Judaism in a Russian community.
Amster, along with six other Americans and seven Israelis, is participating in Amitim, an innovative program aimed at redefining Israel-Diaspora relations. Through Amitim, North American Jewish college graduates and post-military Israelis between the ages of 21 and 27 come together to dedicate eight to 10 months to helping developing Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union.
"We're hoping that the community will benefit from having young adults come and work with them ... (and that the participants) learn about life as Jews in (places) where it's not always easy to be Jewish," says Jessica Aziman, Amitim program coordinator.
Amster, along with four others, is living in Kazan, a community with a population of about 1.25 million people. Although there are believed to be approximately 7,000 Jews in Kazan, only 2,000 have so far attended any of Amitim's programs. "It's very hard to find the Jewish people (here) because they've spent the past 70 years hiding the fact that they were Jewish," Amster explains.
Still, with a synagogue, a rabbi, and Jewish community agencies now functioning, Kazan is considered an "established" Jewish community.
To qualify for the program, a community "has to have a strong functioning Jewish Agency office, and we like to have the American Joint Distribution Committee working there as well," says Aziman.
Another objective of the program is fostering ties between young North American Jews and Israeli Jews, which is how the Hebrew name Amitim, which translates to "colleagues," was chosen.
In this third year of the program, participants have been placed in Lvov, Ukraine; Saratov, Russia; and Kazan, Tatarstan.
Being accepted for the program can be challenging, says Amster. A year ago, as her graduation from the University of Arizona neared, Amster submitted a detailed application, including essays and personal recommendations. In April, she flew to Atlanta for a three-day personal interview and psychological evaluation.
Aziman explains that the screening process is tough because of the magnitude and intensity of the program. "The conditions are very difficult. ... You're looking at extreme poverty, realizing that there's hunger around there, dealing with a second language (and) an environment that is not always 100 percent friendly."
In May, Amster received her acceptance letter.
Three months later, she and the other six Americans joined their seven Israeli counterparts in Israel for several weeks of training. They attended classes on Russian language and culture, Jewish history and tradition, and how to run Jewish programs. Once they completed this instruction, they were sent to their field placements.
The former Soviet Union was chosen because "of the lack of resources and because of the straining economy. And the number of Jews that are still there that really needed an outlet," says Aziman.
Amitim provides structure by arranging for apartments, a driver for each group, monthly allowances, supervision by the Jewish Agency for Israel's Education Department, and community contacts. Beyond that, each group operates mostly on its own. Participants work in partnership with their host communities to develop programs and assist with existing programs. Amster and her colleagues have taught classes in Hebrew and English, organized activities at youth clubs, made home visits to the elderly, worked in soup kitchens, and formed an Israeli dance class and a brass band.
Amster, at home in Phoenix on a three-and-a-half week break from the program, was anxious to return to Kazan to complete her last three months. Before the Amitim experience, she had been in Russia twice before - when she was a student in high school, then for a semester of college.
She decided that in Kazan, her time would best be spent teaching English classes. "I really wanted to work with the kids," she says. "I noticed when I was (in Russia) before, kids run and they play ... they do all the things that kids here do - but they don't smile as much. So, I really wanted to have them smile. I think that was my primary goal."
In Kazan, Amster teaches third graders one day a week at a Jewish day school. She also teaches an English class for young adults three days a week at the synagogue. She and her colleagues are working to establish a weekly kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) service.
The language barrier can be tough, Amster says, and sometimes things can be confusing - like the time she showed up for an event the day after the evening it was scheduled, because the Russian words for "evening" and "tomorrow" are similar - but they're all muddling through.
"I've learned that we have so much living here (in the United States), and I really think that it is so important for everyone to give something, and it doesn't have to be money. (It can be) an hour a week, or an hour every other week, to a food bank, or go sit with someone at Kivel (Care Center)," Amster says. "It can add so much more meaning to your life. I think (that feeling is) what keeps us warm when it's 30-below-zero."
Amitim is funded by Jewish federations throughout the United States, The Jewish Agency for Israel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the United Israel Office of the Council of Jewish Federations and The United Jewish Appeal, as well as some private donors. For more information, contact Jessica Aziman at (404) 870-1610.
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