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Matzah-Bakery Project: in YESOD Center, St. Petersburg
This Passover at YESOD in St. Petersburg, Russia was anything but flat.
In fact, over 1200 people filled YESOD to launch the ten-day Matzah Bakery Project, which turned the state-of-the-art Jewish Community Center into an unleavened-bread production facility. The program also united generations of Jews to enjoy traditions of Passover and of the Jewish culture. Following on the heels of the St. Petersburg community’s Purim celebration, which marked the one-year anniversary of YESOD’s opening, the Matzah-Baking Project was a marked success. The first of its kind in this Russian community, the program welcomed people of all ages, from March 21-29, to learn about holiday rituals including tasting foods and storytelling. Kosher for Passover matzah, a near rarity in St. Petersburg, was aplenty as participants kneaded the special dough. "I wish they were so concentrated at school," said school teacher Elena Vladimirovna while observing her students enjoying their matzah baking experience. The matzah was ultimately distributed to the needy. The event also introduced Jews and non-Jews, and children through seniors. Elderly visitors and Hesed social welfare center clients, for whom YESOD is often their sole social outlet, recounted tales from their lives to younger generations and baked matzah—a first Jewish experience for many—along with their younger counterparts. Throughout the celebration, YESOD embodied the very nature of the Passover traditions: learning through traditions and stories. Parents also discovered how to put their Passover knowledge to use as Russia’s internationally renowned Chef, Ilya Lazerson, president of St.Petersburg’s Chief-Cook Collegia hosted "Kosher and Tasty." Lazerson’s Program taught about kashrut and followed with the preparation of a variety of innovative, traditional and non-traditional Kosher-for-Passover dishes including lasagna, omelets, dumplings, puree, and soup. All the while, children participated in a "Sweet Seder," where they prepared sweet matzah, played Pesach games, danced, and enjoyed other crafty projects. Natalie Rahmanina, an artist who is not of Jewish origin and whose "I Admire Israel" exhibition decorated YESOD’s walls for the event, expressed her appreciation for JDC’s programs at the opening ceremony saying, "When I see how much you do for those who need your help, I wish I were a Jew." This Passover, YESOD’s architecturally award-winning walls held more than just kindergartens, programs for the elderly, Hillel, art galleries, a gymnasium, and matzah being baked. There was also history being made. April 2007 |
