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April, 2003
Hi everyone,
War has come and gone since the last time I wrote - hard to believe the images we've been watching on TV over the past few weeks. Some made me cringe, some made me angry, some made me sad, some made me feel like I was in a movie theater, and some even made me proud. Obviously, there is still a lot of work to be done in this part of the world, and Iraq is far from off the news, but we feel (among other things) a tremendous sense of relief that Israel was not involved in this one. Right now, as we stare at our gas masks sitting in their boxes in the corner and the rolled up plastic sheeting sealed around one of our rooms, it is almost hard to believe that few short weeks ago we were ready to be woken up in the middle of the night by air raid sirens. The emotions change so quickly - we were never really scared, since we didn't believe missiles would ever hit Jerusalem, but we were certainly apprehensive.
Aside from all the hours we spent in front of the TV watching Baghdad, things have been going really well here. It's hard to believe our time in Israel is winding down - we leave near the end of May. We've been packing every week full, and Rachel Ann has been updating the photos on our website ... https://millers18.tripod.com/recent.html
The big news for now is that in about 5 hours we'll be hopping on a taxi to the airport ... where we're flying to Moscow! That's right, we are on Passover Break from school right now, and about 19 of us have been working over the past several months to put together a project where we'll be visiting small Jewish communities in the Former Soviet Union.
The first part of Rachel Ann and my trip will be spent in small towns in the general vicinity of Moscow (there are other groups going to the Kiev and Minsk areas, too). We've been working with the World Union for Progressive Judaism to plan Passover Seders and a variety of other programs in these small communities, where the Jewish population has very little contact with the larger Jewish world and they have a hard time maintaining their Jewish identity - even now, more than 10 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain. In addition to leading several seders, we'll be giving lectures on on the current situation in Israel, the meaning of Reform Judaism, and the idea of freedom in Judaism. We'll also be meeting with youth groups, Sunday school classes, and visiting elderly citizens in their homes. It will be an incredible way to get to know this major segment of the Jewish world - nearly 1 million Jews still live in the Former Soviet Union, even after more than 1 million made their way to Israel over the past decade. After 5-6 days of intensive work, we'll have another 5-6 days to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is going to be a highlight of our year, and we'll be excited to share pictures and stories with you when we return.
Rach and I feel very lucky that we've been able to take advantage of this unique year in our lives. In addition to all the learning, life in Jerusalem, and new people, we've been able to see some wonderful parts of the world. And even though we're far apart, it's a lot of fun for me to share these adventures with you ...
I don't know if we'll have any e-mail access in the FSU, but I look forward to hearing what is happening with you - please write! - and when we get back there will be lots of updates on our website.
Be well,
Mark
SENT FROM MOSCOW:
Dear family,
We're writing from Moscow! It's been a very long week of traveling all around this region by train, bus, car, and foot. Very little sleep, very much activity, and finally an internet connection that works ...
There is SO MUCH we want to tell you, and this trip has already been more than we could have expected! We don't have much time on the line here, so for now a few highlights:
*These are our people! Over and over we meet people who remind us of family or friends from home - their faces, their mannerisms, their laughter. Both of our families have roots in these areas, among others, and it clearly shows. We have been telling people that, and it helps form instant bonds. We have been warmly received and incredibly well-taken-care-of by our hosts. No 5-star hotels on our barnstorm, but a lot of big smiles.
*The 3 small Jewish communities we visited are more active than we were told. We expected groups of people who basically knew they were Jewish and little else. That was probably true 10 years ago, but no more. We found people who are living Jewish lives - youth groups that meet for social and cultural programs every single week, families that celebrate every Jewish holiday together, adults who performed Jewish music for us in several languages, congregations that hold Shabbat services each week, and even people who knew enough to ask questions about specifics in the Talmud! While we had a lot to share, we walked away from every program enriched and learning something new.
*The stories of Soviet times here were much more powerful than any book or other person could have told us. We asked a roomful of elderly Jews if any of them rememebered what a seder was like in their childhood, and none did. Even some of the most active adults here had never heard about Pharaoh or Moses until 1993. And yet, somehow, the heritage survived, and these are people very proud of their tradition and eager to make up for lost time.
*We probably had the most fun with the youth groups. They were great, swarmed all over us from the moment we arrived, offered lots of passion and fun, and left us wishing we could have spent more time with them. Not surprisingly, they are not so different from the kids at home, although their lives have been more difficult and they still have to work harder to hold onto a vision for the future. But they were bright, interesting, cultured, kind, and not overtaken by the "cool" that we see so often with U.S. teens. This was refreshing, and allowed to us to have deeper conversations and more interactive programs that I imagine we could have done with youth groups we met for the first time at home.
*We have made a friend for live in our interpreter. Slava, who we hope you'll have an opportunity to meet, was much more than our Russian voice - he became a full partner in our programming. He sang with us, danced with us, laughed with us, and added an element of genuine Russian culture to everything we did. Much more about him next time.
*Russia itself is absolutely beautiful. We will carry with us so many images - many of which are exactly what we would have expected. Russia is somehow more gray, more overcast, more dirty, more run-down, more disorganized than just about anywhere we've seen at home. The sad effects of Soviet rule can still be seen everywhere, and it will take a long time until this proud country is as modern as it should be. Interestingly, people were not ashamed or even angry at the Soviet time. Monuments remain, some people sang Soviet songs, etc. When we asked, part of the response was, "this is our history." They relish freedom, they struggle to improve, but they do not shy away from their history.
You'll also be happy to hear that we have felt entirely safe and comfortable everywhere we've been. The transportation has been easy, the food good, the people helpful. Probably our biggest problem has been trying to find bottles of water without carbonation! For some reason, these Russ-kies like gas ; ) But seriously, now that we are in Moscow, we anticipate some easy, meaningful, incredible touring. And some sleep. The past week has been VERY busy, and we've been constantly running from one event to the next, sleeping a little in between, and trying to cram every moment full of Russian goodness. I know it sounds a little overboard, but this has been a life-altering 5 days.
MUCH MORE TO COME ... please write us back, even though we're not sure when/if we'll be on-line again before heading back to Israel. But we'll try, and would love to hear from you.
We miss you and hope everything is going well on your end!
Love,
Mark and Rach
May e-mail
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