Rosh Hashanah Biachad (Together): Over 20,000 Join As One Family

The JDC, together with AMIA and the Tzedaka Foundation, in collaboration with FACCMA, ORT and the Israelite Congregation of Argentina and with the participation of various institutions in the Federal Capital and in the interior of Argentina, brought together 20,084 members of the Argentine Jewish community throughout the country to share a Rosh Hashanah dinner as a community.

The tables were set for hundreds of people who had been invited to the dinner. As the guests arrived: members of the community, beneficiaries, families, elders, children and youth were surprised to see that everything had been prepared with so much care and that they would be able to celebrate Rosh Hashanah together in Argentina, as they did last year.

Once more, not a single Jew was deprived of a Rosh Hashanah dinner. Exceeding all expectations, 20,084 people gathered in 97 institutions throughout Argentina to welcome the new year of 5764 as a community.

"I’m so happy to be here. Although there are many people I don’t know, they are all like family to me," said Clara, as she helped her new 8-year old friend Alan fill in a crossword in the Rosh Hashanah Biachad booklet. The booklets were part of the Rosh Hashanah kits that had been distributed by JDC to beneficiary families: 11,137 bags contained honey, apples and challot were given out before the celebrations.

Despite the economic crisis that continues to hit the Argentine Jewish community, JDC remains committed to preserving the Jewish traditions as a means to ensure the continuity of the Jewish people. Since 2002, JDC, together with its local partners and the communities throughout Argentina, has organized special events for the most important holidays in the Jewish calendar, thus turning "Biachad" into a symbol for the entire Jewish community. Over 60,000 people have gathered for different celebrations, knowing it is better to be together during difficult times.

"The nicest thing about this is that when we are sitting at the table we are all equals," noted Claudio, from the community of Córdoba, where 57 volunteers worked hard to make sure this shared dinner was a joyful celebration.

In its second consecutive year, Rosh Hashanah Biachad took place within the framework of the "Biachad" program to give people, especially the 36,355 beneficiaries of social welfare programs, the opportunity of celebrating the Jewish holidays as a community.