Friday, December 28, 2007

The FSU Project

We are very excited to tell you about a project we are participating in, and we need your support. This coming April, over 40 student of HUC-JIR will be traveling abroad to help lead Passover sedars in the Former Soviet Union. The delegation will be traveling to more than twenty communities throughout Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in order to lead seders and conduct educational programming for these under served communities. There are only 6 progressive Rabbi's in the whole FSU who are expected to serve over 100 progressive communities in the region.

In order to prepare for this trip, students are required to fundraise. The trip costs on average $2,000 per student, so we need to raise $4,000 (we are both going), and this money goes toward plane tickets, visas, hotels, and supplies for the seders as well as donations to each community, which will enable them to continue observing Passover in the years to come.

Please consider supporting this project. Tax-deductible donations can be made online at http://www.pesachproject.com/. PLEASE DESIGNATE "FSU PESACH PROJECT" IN THE DROP DOWN MENU.

Additionally, contributions may be sent by mail to:
HUC-JIR
Attn: Diane Bongard
3101 Clifton Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45220


Thanks,

Amy and Rachel


20 years ago, unbeknownst to me, my father went on a trip to the Soviet Union to work with "refuseniks" (Soviet Jews who were denied permission to emigrate abroad). Not until we picked him up from the airport at the conclusion of his trip did I learn about his true mission. I know this was a transformative experience for my father and something that I thought about a lot as a child, which is why I am thrilled to be able to visit these communities, 20 years later, and learn with them by helping them experience a Passover sedar. The transformation is amazing and it is critical to continue to support their ongoing development. ~Rachel Joseph Marah


You can check out our website at: http://info@pesachproject.com/.