I attended two very successful Russian Club events. The first was in the very beginning of the year; planned by an empowered freshmen student. �A Day at the Lake� was appropriately planned at a large park in the suburb of Eden Prairie. Many of the Russian students commute to campus from the western suburbs. 20 students and I played basketball, a Russian form of volleyball, noshed on snacks and hung out. I met many of Russian students that I continued to see on campus and at Hillel.
There were many Russian movie nights that were also very successful. I only attended these events if I knew that there would be English subtitles.
The most successful engagement event at Hillel was the Russian Shabbat. The special elements of this Shabbat included a dvar torah about Russian American Jewish Life, followed by a meal with traditional Russian foods. After dinner we had a wonderful discussion with both Russian and non-Russian students led by an older brother of a very empowered freshmen. The discussion explored Jewish identity and the unique experiences of Russian Jews in the US, on campus, and here at Hillel. The discussion was very powerful and eye opening for myself and many other general Hillel students about the challenges for Russian Jews pre and post immigration to the United States.
Next year I intend to work closely with Ilana Volodarsky of the UJFC to make relevant Jewish programming for Russian students. We hope to hold a Midwest Russian Shabbaton in the spring as well as a Shabbat dinner followed by a discussion of High Holidays before school begins. It has been very successful to use Ilana�s list of students as well as the Russian Club�s email list to publicize events geared toward Russian students. |
