In honor of Rosh Chodesh Sivan, another gathering of the “Mothers and Daughters” project took place in the Dnipro Jewish Community, bringing together participants from the children’s program “DJCY – STL kids – JFuture,” the teen program “DJCY – STL Teens – EnerJew,” as well as the “Rosh Chodesh Club” for girls attending the Dnipro Jewish Community’s youth project “DJCY-STL-STARS Dnipro.” These programs are implemented by the Dnipro Jewish Community with the support of STL and projects of the JRNU foundation.
The theme of the gathering was the month of Sivan, inextricably linked with one of the most important events in Jewish history – the Giving of the Torah and the holiday of Shavuot. For this reason, the program’s main focus was on the Ten Commandments, their content, and how these most important foundations of Jewish life continue to remain relevant today.
At the beginning of the gathering, mothers and daughters participated in the fulfillment of a special and very important women’s mitzvah connected with the preparation of challah for Shabbos and holidays. The hafrashas challah ceremony was conducted by Morah Sheina Smilyanska, dedicating this act to the speedy recovery of Rabbi Dov Ber Baitman.
While the challahs braided by the participants were baking, everyone was invited to a delicious kosher dairy meal. Afterwards, a lesson took place dedicated to a deeper acquaintance with the Ten Commandments. Divided into teams, the participants received materials for studying one of the commandments, after which each group had to present it in a simple and clear format on their own poster. Everyone was then able to walk through an impromptu “Gallery of Commandments” and view the work of other participants, learning more about the meaning of each commandment.
The program continued with an unusual role-playing game that helped consolidate new knowledge in an engaging format. Three participants acted as “experts”: one was a soldier of the “Tzivos Hashem” army, another was a Yiddish grandmother who “always knows better than everyone,” and one of the participants portrayed a cow that personally was at Mount Sinai at the moment of the Giving of the Torah. The “experts” answered questions about how the Divine Revelation took place, how the Ten Commandments were received, and the meaning of this most important event in human history, while the other participants had to determine who was giving the correct answer. This game format generated much joy and helped the new information to be easily remembered.
The gathering concluded with a creative workshop on making beautiful bouquets from wildflowers, and upon parting, each family was able to take home the challahs they had prepared with their own hands.
“We wanted the Sivan month gathering to help participants not only learn more about the Giving of the Torah and the Ten Commandments but also to feel that the study of Jewish traditions can be interesting, engaging, and unifying,” noted project coordinator Beila Letychevska. “It is especially important that mothers and daughters were able to learn, create, play, and spend time together, strengthening their bond with one another. For the opportunity to hold such warm and meaningful gatherings, we sincerely thank the Dnipro Jewish Community and its Chief Rabbi, Shmuel Kaminezki.”
