Educators’ Seminar in Ukraine Successful, Despite being in the Shadow of Ukraine War

14/08/2024

 Celebrating its 32st anniversary, Midreshet Schechter held its annual Teachers’ Training Seminar in late June near Chernivtsi in Western Ukraine.

35 educators (teachers, community activists, camp counselors), arrived from 3 cities (Kyiv, Odessa, Chernivtsi). Unfortunately, educators from Kharkhiv could not join due to the heavy bombardment of their city.

Educators’ Seminar Participants pre-Shabbat photo

This year’s focus was shared experiences of “Coping with War in Israel and Ukraine,” and “Lessons from the Holocaust for Today.”

The five-day intensive seminar included study, pedagogical training, exchange of professional knowledge and advice as well as a respite from the travails of the war.

Seminar highlights included meeting with Rachel Sharansky Danziger (journalist, teacher, and daughter of Anatoly (Natan) Sharansky) and Rabbi Shlomo Zacharow, Masorti rabbi and teacher of Ukraine’s newly minted Kashrut supervisors.

In-person and interactive zoom sessions focused on events of Oct. 7th and their aftermath. Sharansky Danziger described her personal experiences hearing the sirens, running to the bomb shelter with her children and trying to calm them via praying and singing. She described the extraordinary volunteer spirit of Israeli society following Oct 7th from cooking food for soldiers and families whose husbands were in reserve duty to equipping soldiers with missing equipment to helping displaced refugees with housing, clothing, and more.

Schechter student Anat Alkabets, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, described in detail what happened to her and her family on Oct 7th. Sivan, her 23 year old daughter and her boyfriend Naor Hasidim, were brutally murdered by Hamas while taking cover in their small kibbutz apartment.

Finally, Yevgeny Riazanov, a young Oleh originally from Chernivtsi, described his callup to reserve duty in Israel’s North on Oct. 7th.

An unexpected pleasure for the educators was finding Yosef Zissels, Executive Co-President of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine (Va’ad of Jews in Ukraine) in the same hotel site. He spoke to the seminar about both Israel and Ukraine being bulwarks of democracy against totalitarian regimes. He also examined the role of the Ukrainian people during the Holocaust and the high number of Righteous Gentiles recognized among them.

L-R: Dr. Etka Liebowitz, Rachel Sharansky Danziger, Rabbi Irina Gritsevskaya, Yosef Zissels

Other sessions included:

  • Shaping Memory: Present-day Remembrance of the Holocaust and how it might affect remembrance of the war in Ukraine.
  • The concept of brotherhood and its role bolstering Israel’s resilience in the war.
  • Torah portion study class on Shlach Lecha
  • Teaching Torah during Crisis: Examining experiences in both Israel’s and Ukraine’s wars through the prism of biblical texts
  • Redemption of Captives discussion based on rabbinic and contemporary sources, especially regarding Israel’s current hostage situation.
  • Avoiding the Responsibilities of Freedom via Lashon Hara (Harmful Speech) in relation to the current situation in Israel.
  • Coping with Stress in Times of War: Relaxation techniques for the mind, body, and soul.
  • Art relaxation therapy session enabling participants to express their feelings via painting.

Lastly, the seminar also provided an important opportunity for three community leaders – Lev Kleyman from Chernivtsi, Maxim Melnikov from Kyiv and Zeev Walsman from Odessa – to interact and plan for joint Shabbat community visits so as to become better acquainted.

Midreshet Schechter expresses appreciation for the seminar’s support from:

  • The Claims Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany
  • The Pincus Fund for Jewish Education

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