.:: BAR / BAT MITZVAH TWINNING ::.

who we are...

THE ISRAEL RUSSIAN PROGRAM-AISH

“OPERATION COMMUNITY”, currently has programs for immigrants of Russian background, running throughout Israel in:

Ashdod	Petach Tikvah	Haifa

Carmiel	Bat Yam

With your help, we are working to open new community centers in Beit Shemesh and Netanya. Beit Shemesh currently has a population of over 8,000 Russian Jews with no synagogue and virtually no community or outreach programs catering to their very specific cultural needs. Please help us to enable these fellow Jews to re-connect with Jewish life which they were cut off from for so very long under Soviet rule. Living in Israel is a huge step in the right direction but now Russian Jews are primed and eager to fully inherit their place within Am Yisrael and we must not miss this historic opportunity!

Program Director, Rav Eliyahu Essas-former Refusnik

Jewish immigrants arriving in Israel after collapse of Former Soviet Union, early 1990's

Although the famous plight and subsequent exodus of Soviet Jewry is no longer front page news, the situation they find themselves in today, still deserves our deep concern and continued attention. Today, 18% of the Jewish population in Israel is from the Former Soviet Union (F.S.U.). Even this many years later, a large number of these immigrants have had little to no exposure to Judaism. This is where OPERATION COMMUNITY and the Israel Russian Program of Aish come in.

Our programs have been enabling Russian Jews to learn about the beauty of their heritage for over 16 years in both the F.S.U. and more recently in Israel. Rav Noach Weinberg, the Dean and Founder of Aish HaTorah, saw the need to have a strong presence in the FSU in the early 1990's as the political climate was improving there for Jews and Jewish emigration to Israel. As a result, we developed program centers in the major cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Minsk, and Kiev among others. In these places the Aish Russian Program was able to teach and inspire a generation of Jews that had been literally robbed of their Jewish souls and any connection to Israel and our traditions. Our programs are designed specifically to enable these fellow Jews to re-kindle that connection and spark their interest in Jewish life and Israel. Many of our students have gone on to become leading teachers, Rabbis and activists, many of whom made aliyah and have helped with the process of integrating other Russian immigrants into Israeli society

Rav Essas with student in F.S.U.

ISRAEL COMMUNITIES

With the huge influx of Russian Jews in the 1990's, we saw that the primary focus of our efforts and resources had to be in Israel and this led to the establishing of Operation Community. We gradually set up community based programs and synagogues that catered to the specific needs of Russian-speaking Jews. These immigrants or olim, needed teachers and professionals that could help them in their own language and who understood their cultural needs and their difficult historical experience in the Soviet Union. Under the able direction of former refusnik Rav Eliyahu Essas, our community centers throughout Israel buzz with activity at all hours. Whether it’s a Holiday party, a communal Shabbat meal, a challa baking demonstration, or a spirited Bar/Bat Mitzvah class, there is something for everyone in our community centers. Many of our students have gone on to become teachers at our centers and leaders within their communities, encouraging others to live not only as Israelis, but as proud Jews.

Operation Community continues to reach hundreds of Russian Jews every week through our programs in Ashdod, Haifa, Bat Yam, Carmiel and Petach Tikvah. Planning is underway for new programs in other cities with large Russian populations such as Beit Shemesh and Netanya.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

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INTERNET SITE: Evrey.com

Our Internet site, EVREY.COM, is now the most-visited Jewish-Russian website in the world by far! This site, run by our Director and former refusnik Rav Eliyahu Essas, is A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY as it is having a huge impact on Russian Jews all around the world! We have over 5,000 regular visitors every week who study online with us and are growing daily in their Yiddishkeit!

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

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BAR/BAT MITZVAH TWINNING PROGRAM

TWINNED BAR MITZVAH AT KOTEL-2006

Our Bar/Bat Mitzvah Twinning Program is matching sponsor families in North America, England and elsewhere, with boys and girls in Israel who would not otherwise be able to celebrate this important Jewish milestone in their lives. We encourage picture and letter exchanges between the two teens and the whole process is very inspiring and meaningful for everyone involved in this huge mitzvah.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE
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KIEV BRANCH

In Kiev our successful programs are reaching hundreds of students and families each week and we are positioned to insure that these Jews do not disappear forever. The Aish shul and community are very warm and inviting with popular programs for women, men, children and seniors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE
DONATE HERE

RAV ESSAS

Rav Eliyahu Essas is the Director of the Israel Russian Program. He bravely taught Russian Jews underground when it was illegal during the Soviet era. Rav Essas now runs our community programs all over Israel and established our very popular Jewish-Russian Internet site Every.com. (The most visited Jewish-Russian website in the world). Rav Essas personally oversees the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Twinning Program in addition to our other dedicated teachers.