On the eve of the year 5786, a special meeting took place within the “DJCY – STL Teens – EnerJew” adolescent program, implemented by the Dnipro Jewish Community with the support of STL and the JRNU foundation’s EnerJew project, dedicated to various aspects of the holiday.
The program participants heard the sounding of the shofar, which was performed for them by the project’s new madrich, Arye Ivakhnenko. They discussed the significance of this commandment on Rosh Ha-Shanah, how it affects a person, opens their soul, how to listen to the shofar correctly, and why it is so important.
“We discussed what prayer is and how to pray so that the Almighty accepts our words and requests,” said Beila Letychevskaya, coordinator of “DJCY – STL Teens – EnerJew.” “We learned to trust each other and came to the conclusion that in life we have various ‘guides’: parents, friends, books, but a rabbi or a Torah teacher is especially important – someone who can point out where the truth lies and how to stay on the right path.”
There were also many fun games: for example, splitting into two teams, the teenagers completed a thematic quest, and also made bright buns in the shape of pomegranates – one of the symbols of the holiday. To conclude, the boys and girls did some studying in a traditional Jewish chavruta style and undertook good resolutions for the coming year.
Such a rich and unforgettable session greatly helped the teenagers to properly welcome Rosh Ha-Shanah. This coming Sunday, September 28th, a session preparing for Yom Kippur will take place, and Beila Letychevskaya urges everyone not to miss it and to definitely come at 12:00 PM to the informal education space on the 8th floor of the Menorah Center.
