Elena Levtrynski with her daughter Polina in Nesher, Israel. Photo: Vera Etzion
Jewish study wasn’t a part of Elena Levtrynski’s life when she lived in the Ukraine. But one day Levtrynski, at age 32, decided to join a Project Kesher group for Jewish women in the former Soviet Union and learn about Judaism, social issues, and leadership skills. She began gaining awareness of her Jewish heritage that led her to make aliyah several years later.
In 2008, Levtrynski joined other women from the former Soviet Union to create Project Kesher-Israel, with support from UJA-Federation of New York.
Project Kesher-Israel, which helps strengthen women’s Jewish identity, is just one example of how Jewish renewal is taking root in New York, in Israel, and around the world. It addresses how to have a meaningful connection to Judaism and the Jewish people.
It’s a reflection of the leading role UJA-Federation has taken in providing a global perspective and investing in new models in the field of Jewish renewal and innovation.
Fostering Jewish Renewal
“Strengthening individual Jewish identity while intensifying Jewish peoplehood — our collective Jewish identity — is one of the most central issues facing our people, beyond the immediate economic crisis,” notes John S. Ruskay, UJA-Federation executive vice president & CEO. UJA-Federation, which had provided support for Project Kesher leadership training in the former Soviet Union, recognized that the Kesher model of community development could be adapted to work successfully in a new environment.
“Project Kesher has a track record in identifying grassroots leaders and training them to become effective Jewish community leaders and community activists,” says Eli Gur, planning executive with UJA-Federation in Israel.
With the help of nine Project Kesher-Israel groups throughout the country, more than 120 women from the former Soviet Union who have made aliyah are now building connections to Judaism and getting guidance for integrating into Israeli society. The women range in age from their 20s to over 60.
“Our central concern is to promote the development of Jewish identity and renewal because they are essential to us as a people,” explains Alisa Doctoroff, chair of UJA-Federation’s Commission on Jewish Identity and Renewal. “We do this through many different means, formal and informal, traditional and non-traditional, institution-based or not.”
Developing Community Leaders
Project Kesher-Israel leadership seminars have trained 25 women to be community leaders and more seminars are planned.
For many participants in Project Kesher-Israel, who may not be comfortable attending local Orthodox synagogues and unable to travel to synagogues outside their neighborhoods, the groups provide a place to practice Judaism with others. Each meeting includes Jewish study and introduces Jewish rituals and foods associated with Jewish holidays so the women can return home to teach their families.
“Project Kesher gives women a chance to study, to talk, to try to understand something from Torah, to understand Jewish life,” Levtrynski says.
It’s also a time for women to discuss issues of immigration, domestic violence, or health. Often Jewish study leads to a discussion of these contemporary issues, Levtrynski notes, such as when her group studied the biblical story of Lot’s wife who turned into a pillar of salt as she looked back on the city she was leaving behind.
“We read the story and discussed the reasons she looked back and what it means to not look back at what you have left behind when you leave your country and move to another as an immigrant, and how looking back affects your ability to integrate into a new society,” she explains.
While Levtrynski turned to Project Kesher-Israel for community, Jewish engagement, and support, she found all of that and something more: a vital source of purpose and meaning, the essence of Jewish renewal. ♦
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