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Pesach Beiajad: Argentina's Jews Gather Around the Seder Table
"This was the first time in years that I was able to invite my family to Passover," said Anna, an elderly Auschwitz survivor and a resident of the Burzaco Old Age Home in Argentina" I was inviting and not being invited, and for this I was proud."
Since the economic collapse of December 2001, JDC has developed an expansive network of social assistance to alleviate the sudden hunger, poverty and unemployment left in the crisis's wake. In developing this infrastructure, JDC, in collaboration with local partners, continues to emphasize the Jewish dimension of social welfare. The concept of "Beiajad" was born of Jewish ideals, caring one for the other. A Hebrew word meaning "together," the program guarantees that no Jew in Argentina will be lonely or without resources to celebrate Jewish festivities. "Even now, still undergoing a crisis and struggling to make ends meet, the commitment of the Argentine Jewish community is to preserve Jewish traditions," commented Mariela, a young volunteer. Mariela and her fellow volunteers are busy coordinating this year's seders, which are expected to receive some 18-20,000 Jews in scores of locations throughout the country, including synagogues, JCCs and Jewish schools. Since the Beiajad Program's beginnings in 2002, over 174,000 Argentina Jews have participated in events – for Rosh Hashana, Pesach, Shavuot and Chanukah – in over 100 institutions countrywide. "This is a beautiful community," remarked one elderly woman at a seder in Cordoba, Argentina's largest rural Jewish community, where tents were needed to enlarge the main community hall to accommodate 1,100 guests last year. In smaller communities such as the historical immigration town of Moisesville, which hosted 250 participants last year, the seders brought together clients of the welfare network and those who could still manage to afford their own tickets.
"Everybody can celebrate, those who have a family and those who do not," said Berta, a Holocaust survivor who plans to join the communal seder at the Libertad Synagogue in Buenos Aires. Alberto, a gentleman in his forties, echoed those sentiments as he prepares again to read from the Passover Haggadah and listen too the community youth chant the Four Questions. "It's like having a big family! It helps us to forget our troubles and brings spiritual relief."
April 2005 |
