An American Teenager Sponsors Cuban B'nai Mitzvah Program

Jenn, an American teenager, used money she received for her Bat Mitzvah to initiate a Bar/Bat Mitzvah training program in Havana, Cuba for Jewish children. She visited the community in January 2003 to meet the children who are benefiting from her program. Here is her story:

"I was finally there - the place I had heard my father talk about since I was a little girl. But the place I imagined was nothing like what I saw and felt while in Havana, Cuba. I was fortunate enough to go to there because my father works for the JDC and has been working with the Cuban Jewish community for the last ten years. I went to Cuba with him to meet the six children whose B'nai Mitzvah I had sponsored with my Bat Mitzvah money.

When I was deciding what mitzvah project to do for my Bat Mitzvah, I picked the Cuban Jews because I had heard for years how special this community was and that they could not afford the expenses of having their own Bar or Bat Mitzvah. The program began on June 15th 2002, the date of my Bat-Mitzvah, when six children began their studies. On January 26th, 2003, I boarded a small charter flight from Miami to Cuba with a group from the New York Jewish Federation and my dad. Amongst many activities, we would all have the honor of sharing in the last Bar Mitzvah in the group, that of Victor.

A Cuban guide named Aline greeted us in Havana and showed us many sites and special places, including the three synagogues, "The Patranato" (which also serves as a Jewish community center), Adath Israel (the Orthodox synagogue) and the Sephardic Center. It was amazing that these synagogues were filled with so much activity after thirty years of Judaism being almost non-existent. We also visited the U.S. Interests Section, Old Havana and its Jewish quarter, the Jewish cemetery and Holocaust memorial where we said Kaddish, museums and a cigar factory. It was amazing to me to see so many old cars. We even got to ride in one of the vintage cars that are still driven in Cuba. I rode in a 1953 Chevy!

We were accompanied by Mara and Nestor, two Argentineans who work for the JDC and live in Cuba. They work with the Jewish community and do almost everything from teaching and organizing, to entertaining and taking care of the nearly 1500 Jews still left in Cuba. Being with my father was fascinating because he showed us in depth what it is like for the Cuban Jews and how they live.

The Jewish community was extremely nice, warm and inviting. They let us into their lives with open arms and open hearts. I really got to see how deprived and appreciative they were. They have basic necessities but not much more. When one of the women in our group gave all of the B'nai Mitzvah kids "Milky Way" bars, I saw their faces light up with excitement as they took their first bites. They looked like they were in heaven. In Cuba, they rarely get things like candy and toys. People receive a "ration card" which entitles them to a certain amount of food such as beans, rice, meat, eggs, cooking oil and a bar of soap. This small ration has to last a whole family a month. A doctor only earns $15 to $20 a month which must cover anything extra a family might need. For example, toilet paper is not in the ration, and can only be found in dollar stores (if you are lucky enough to have dollars).

I was very surprised to see that the kids were very much like my friends and I. Although they don't have many possessions, they were warm, friendly and caring. After I got to know them a little better, I realized how much we take things for granted in the U.S. My trip to Cuba was so moving to me and made me realize how lucky I am!

The highlight of my trip however, was finally going to see Victor's tefillen ceremony. We all went to The Patronato (a newly renovated Conservative synagogue) where Victor read from the Torah and had an aliyah. This was nothing like anything I have ever experienced in the many Bar and Bat-Mitzvot that I have attended. After Victor finished his aliyah, he was blessed by one of his teachers, and while he was being blessed he started to cry. He was not crying because he was afraid, he was crying from happiness. Victor was happy because he was a Bar-Mitzvah (an accomplishment that neither he nor his entire family had ever dreamed possible). Everyone was so moved, even his best friend and teacher, Nestor was in tears. After Victor's blessing, I had the honor of being called up to the Bimah for an aliyah. After I had finished the prayer, Victor's teacher blessed me the same way that he blessed Victor and despite my nervousness, I knew how special this moment was.

As part of the gifts that the B'nai Mitzvah children received, were tallitot, tefillen, siddurim, tanachim, mezuzot and kiddush cups partially donated by families from my school. Victor and his family also got to come out to lunch with our group. On the bus ride to lunch, Victor sat next to me and pulled out of his pocket a chocolate bar that a women from our group had given him. As he was savoring each bite, he looked at me and offered me half of the bar. I was shocked at his generosity! Many American children that I know would not have been half as generous. That is what moved me most about my trip to Cuba, these people have so little and yet have so much to give. They all were beginning to feel as close as family.

On the drive home from the airport, surrounded by store after store, I thought back to the friends I met in Cuba and the moment on the Bimah, and wished I was back in Havana."