BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

10/04/2008

Belarus Jewish Community Hosts Family Retreat

MINSK, Belarus - The Jewish community of Minsk has just concluded a family seminar, which involved girls and their parents. Led by Chief Rabbi of Minsk Shneur Deutch, the seminar took place from Friday through Sunday at a site not far from Minsk. Located in a picturesque and green retreat complex, the children and adults had a good rest and seized the opportunity to become better acquainted with Jewish traditions concerning Shabbat.

"We had a turnout of 90 girls, which is comparable to the attendance we have seen for our 'Gan Israel' summer camp," commented Chief Rabbi Shneur Deutch. "We arranged this retreat for them so that they would once again feel such unity and closeness with their national heritage". The camp counselors themselves are alumni of the 'Gan Israel' camp, who now had the chance of passing on their experience to younger girls and helped to orient some of the parents to Jewish culture and traditions.

For participating adults, this was an excellent occasion to get to know the teachers and Rabbis better. The seminar also involved Chabad Lubavitch emissaries serving in other cities elsewhere in Belarus, traveling all the way from Mogilev, Bobruysk, Grodno and Brest. In store for the mothers was an interesting program, prepared by Rebbetzin Deutch, and a lecture on providing for a Jewish upbringing by Rebbetzin Lamdan of Bobruisk.

This seminar was made possible through the organizational support of the Jewish community of Minsk - a member of the Association of Jewish Communities of Belarus - and the financial assistance of the 'Avi Chai' Foundation and the Ohr Avner Foudation, headed by FJC President Lev Leviev.

Source:

http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?AID=663295

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