CSAIR Trip to Israel
In August 2008, Rabbi Barry Dov Katz led a synagogue trip to Israel. A group of 28 teens and adults traveled the country from North to South. One highlight of the trip was our visit to an immigrant absorption center at Kibbutz Ayelet Hashachar. The absorption center helps newly arrived Ethiopian Jews acclimate to life in Israel. Our group was privileged to present a Torah scroll to the residents of the absorption center. The scroll was donated by a recently-closed Bronx shul, the Morris Park Hebrew Center, to NACOEJ (North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry). Faye Lieman, our member and newly-elected president of NACOEJ, asked us to transport the Torah scroll to Israel. Before we left for Israel we offered the scroll a bon voyage in our shul, sending it to its new home with songs and dances. In the video clips here, you can watch what happened when our group arrived at Ayelet Hashachar. We were greeted by over 200 Ethiopian Jews of all ages. We danced with them as the scroll was escorted to their synagogue. At first the music on the loudspeakers was Eastern European Jewish music. As the group came close to the synagogue and Rabbi Katz handed the Torah to one of the elders of the Ethiopian community, the group began to sing joyous songs in Amharit, their own language. They danced the traditional dances of Ethiopia. It was incredibly moving to watch this group of new immigrants take hold of their new Torah scroll, embracing and enhancing our common tradition.
Click on the links below to watch video of the Ethiopian Jews at Ayelet Hashachar greeting the new Torah.
