Eternal Jewish Family’s Blog

Posts Tagged ‘jewish eternity’

250 Jewish Students Hear Plea to Marry Jewish in Major Shabbaton in Odessa

ODESSA, UKRAINE- An amphitheater overflowing with Jewish students was the background for a plea “to preserve your ties with our eternal Jewish family and to Our Father,” by Rabbi Leib Tropper, Chairman of the Rabbinic Committee of the Eternal Jewish Family. Speaking via a live hookup on Thursday September 3rd, Rabbi Tropper received wide applause when he pleaded: “Do not sever your ties to our glorious past and even more to what will be a glorious future.” The Shabbaton was part of a major initiative by EJF to stem the tide of assimilation and intermarriage in Jewish communities around the world. It was sponsored in conjunction with Nefesh Yehudi, funded by the Wolfson and Horn Families, and Tikvah, the local kiruv organization. Rabbi Tropper was followed by Menachem Lubinsky, President of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting and special consultant to EJF. Noting that it was the week marking the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the systematic destruction of Eastern European Jewry by the Nazis, Lubinsky noted: “What better time than now to reaffirm our commitment to Jewish eternity.” The session was introduced by Rabbi Shlomo Baksht, the chief rabbi of Odessa and the architect of the remarkable resurgence of Jewish life in Odessa.

In an inspirational and festive Shabbos that included singing and dancing to traditional zemiros, the students also heard lectures by prominent renowned lecturers. They included Rabbi Mordechai Neugroschel, Rabbi Chaim Cohen, Rabbi Doron Kornbluth and Rabbi Eli Ilani. Most of the students are enrolled in the Jewish University of Odessa, which is part of the network of Torah institutions established by Rabbi Baksht. Some 900 Jewish children are enrolled in the institutions, as well as 200 youngsters who are in the three orphanages sponsored by Tikva. Many of the orphans were found on Odessa’s streets without any hope for their future.