Creating new "Doorways" for Jews throughout the World

Over plates of traditional food adults spoke about the local Jewish community and measures that could be taken to strengthen it: a number of men suggested starting up small businesses, while the women touted the idea of a middle-generation club where they could learn and benefit from each other's experiences while helping to grow the community one family at a time. "It was as though we had known each other for ages when, in fact, it was the first time we spent an evening together in one of our homes," explained Ela. "We must continue this program and work very hard on it because, in my opinion, it is the right way to include many more young families in the community."

The implementation of the program, "Bringing Shabbat Back to the Home," was furthered by Ela and her friend Svetlana's participation in the JDC-sponsored "Doorways" seminar on Jewish Life, Family, and Home held in Budapest, Hungary, at the close of 2004.

The program, appropriately named, addressed the necessity for the contemporary Jewish community to provide multiple entryways to Jewish life and to make these doorways as wide and open as possible. According to Abby Pitkowsky, Education Consultant for JDC Global Programs and coordinator of the seminar, "The reasoning for the program came not only from the recognition of the wide variety of Jewish connections – spiritual, intellectual, cultural, gastronomical – but also the acceptance of the serious diversity of the Jewish family in all of our communities."

Fifteen Jewish educators from Central and Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia – Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey – participated in this extraordinary training, a follow-up to last year's successful regional seminar on Bar/Bat-Mitzvah training. "Doorways" participants heard presentations of theory and core concepts in Jewish Family Education from four distinguished faculty, including Mrs. Schechter-Shaffin, former JDC-Jewish Service Corps participant in Romania; Rabbi Shaffin, an experienced Jewish educator and rabbi in the NY metropolitan area; Ms. Dickstein, Director of Family Education and Outreach in a NY-area Bureau of Jewish Education and faculty member at the Whizin Institute at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles; and Mrs. Pitkowsky.

Among other activities, the participants were divided into working groups with whom they collaborated on designing a prototype Jewish Family Education program which could be replicated in their home communities. "The deep interest in the subject matter and motivation to gain as much as possible from this seminar was evident throughout every session," observed Abby. "We literally had to force them to stop their work to take meals and breaks!"

Ana, from Croatia, was grateful that she came to Budapest to join some of her international colleagues. "I needed and I got some very specific tools that will certainly help me in my work right now," she said.

Progress made over the course of the training will be maintained and nurtured through virtual meetings and the creation of a web page for Doorways participants. In addition, JDC's Education Department will maintain contact with all of the educators who were in attendance and offer ongoing support and consultation. Due to the success of the seminar, future global trainings will expand to include a Jewish Family Educator from the former Soviet Union as well as further collaboration with the Whizin Institute.

As Ela reflects on the positive impact she already observed in her community, she becomes animated. "The fact that we were all not just listeners, but instead were very active during the program, caused people of different ages and professions, countries and communities, to work together as one. And this was very meaningful."