The Jewish Community of Dnipro hosted the grand opening of the new season of the popular teen program of informal Jewish education “DJCY – STL Teens – EnerJew,” which is implemented with the support of STL and Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU). This year, the organizers offered the participants an unusual concept titled “EnerJew Airlines 5787,” and the start of the new season turned into a symbolic departure of flight EJ5787.
The main idea of the new season is that the teenagers are to undertake a journey not only through space but also into the depths of their own inner world, discovering their talents, strengths, and new opportunities, and most importantly – becoming aware of their special mission that every Jew is called to fulfill in this world. It is precisely through such self-discovery, of one’s abilities and one’s place among the Jewish people, that the program helps teenagers form their Jewish identity and a conscious attitude toward their own lives.
The opening of the season was organized in the style of a real air journey. The participants went through a symbolic check-in for the flight, packed a shared suitcase of expectations for the coming year, and set off toward new discoveries. This playful format became a kind of prologue to a great educational program, in which serious questions about personality, values, and a person’s purpose will be revealed through communication, creativity, and shared activity.
The gatherings of the “DJCY – STL Teens – EnerJew” program will take place every Sunday on the eighth floor of the world’s largest Jewish center, “Menorah,” where a space has been created for the informal Jewish education of teenagers. Ahead, the participants will enjoy new acquaintances, interesting classes, diverse events, and the opportunity to become part of the friendly teen team of the Jewish Community of Dnipro.
“Our flight EJ5787 has already set off on its journey, and the most interesting is yet to come, for we want every teenager to be able to discover their abilities, feel their own worth, and understand that they have a special mission that no one else can fulfill in their place,” said Beila Letichevskaya, coordinator of the “DJCY – STL Teens – EnerJew” program. “And we are very grateful to Jewish Relief Network Ukraine for supporting this important program, which helps us raise a new generation of Jewish youth – confident, knowing their roots, and feeling their responsibility before the Jewish people. All of this becomes possible thanks to the care and support of the united and cohesive Jewish Community of Dnipro under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
