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JDC Rabbinic Intern Helps Romanian Jewish Community
Yitzhak Szyf is a rabbinic student at Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and is currently completing a JDC Rabbinic Internship in Oradea, Romania. The JDC Rabbinic Internship is an opportunity for newly ordained, or highly qualified current Rabbinical school students, to make an enduring difference in the present and future of an historically rich Jewish community. Rabbinical interns serve a Jewish community that has been without a Rabbinic presence for decades, and help create competency and self-sufficiency by providing Jewish learning, leading religious functions and life-cycle events. For more information on the JDC Rabbinic internship, contact info@jdc.org
Below is a first-hand account of Yitzhak’s experiences. Oradea is a beautiful little city in Transylvania (known by many as Grosswardein), once home to 30,000 Jews including the Vizhnitzer Rebbe and his Chasidim. Today, less than 500 Jews remain, but the community is vibrant, optimistic, and proud of its young members who make up the Klezmer band and youth choir. The community is now in the process of restoring some of its historic buildings, including the beautiful Orthodox Synagogue, while building a new JCC with the first modern-day Kosher cafe in Romania. What it was missing until now was a Rabbi. Acting as Rabbi in such a city is both humbling and challenging. The experience is humbling when I think of its rich Jewish past living under the shadow of its beautiful pre-war buildings, and it is challenging as I must satisfy the needs of two very different groups, those who remember life before the war and those who grew up under communism. As the Rabbi of the only shul used today, I have the opportunity to spend every morning with the older members of the community who attend the daily minyan. On shabbat, I am slowly trying to attract some young people to come by introducing melodies and basic explanations. In addition to giving the drasha and deciding on halachic issues, I act as a baal tefillah and baal koreh. My biggest struggle is finding the balance between relating to the older generation who wants to do everything the old way and the other community members who cannot even read Hebrew yet. 
Teaching and youth activities occupy a large portion of my time. I am teaching Hebrew reading weekly, separately to adults and children. I also try to lead a weekly discussion or class with the middle-age group. I am currently working on training one of the youth leaders to act as a shliach tzibur, and he is excited to soon be able to help our ninety-five year old "chazzan" who does everything when I am away. The highlight of my week is the weekly oneg shabbat in my apartment for the youth. This is our best opportunity to learn together in a casual setting and discuss future activities. Of course, they all love learning new songs and nigunim, which reminds them of their experiences in summer camp. The holiday celebrations here are grand and impressive. The Tu Bishvat celebration began with a nice Tu Bishvat seder on Friday night, which was well attended. The program continued on Sunday when the community traveled across the border to Debrecen, Hungary where the Klezmer band and choir performed for the local, mostly elderly, Jewish community. The following week, the Tu Bishvat celebration culminated in Oradea with another Klezmer and choir performance. Purim here was a unique experience with a mega celebration in the main theater of Oradea, to which important representatives of the city were invited to attend. On Purim night, I read the megillah with my usual excitement while encouraging the kids to make noise for Haman. We also blasted some animal sounds from my iPod during Haman which added to the excitement. Many said that it was the first time that they had enjoyed the megillah reading. Everyone noticed how our ninety-five year old "chazan" was unusually happy when he saw the kids enjoying themselves at shul like they did in the olden days. As the spring approaches, we hope to begin more activities and retreats with the youth of the surrounding cities. We would like to turn Oradea into a center and a model for Jewish life in Transylvania as a whole. With the opening of the JCC in May, the community hopes to take advantage of the growing feeling of optimism that now permeates the streets of Romania. This spring will be the first spring for a new Romania which is now a full member of the European Union. This could signalize new hope for a community whose biggest fear was losing its young members. At last, Romania is on a secure path for opportunity and growth. At last, the Jewish community feels secure in investing in its own growth. April 2007 |
