"Temple 3.0" on the Seder night

By Yelena Kozlova

The annual Mishmash Passover in the Desert festival just celebrated its third year in the barren lands of Panoche Hills.  Over 60 participants, including children and dogs left it all behind and braved the cold and winds for the warmth of community celebration and co-created abundance.  This year, the proverbial “desert” saw a record number of participants from a record number of locations, including Russian and American Jews from San Francisco, South Bay, East Bay, Los Angeles, New York and Israel.  In the true tradition of Passover, a couple of strangers were invited to the celebration and offered shelter, food, warmth and opportunity to join the community.

Ilya Gubernik from Los Angeles summed it up well.

“The event was wonderfully put together with a lot of care and planning. I personally had a great time getting away from the civilization, celebrating Passover, living simple life as part of the community and meeting wonderful new people.”

Passover in the Desert invoked an experiential connection with the holiday and the story of Exodus by inviting the attendees to escape the comfort of their homes to explore freedom from the predictable and make space for the co-created unknown.  Of course, as at most Jewish events, even in the desert there was an over-abundance of food with participants treating one-another to camping culinary creations, including this year’s surprise, a whole lamb roasted for the community, the pièce de résistance of the second Seder dinner.

Reading the 10 Plagues to children on the first traditional Seder.

Along with a traditional first Seder celebration that creatively engaged adults and children alike, workshops were abundant this year as in the past, including Jewish Meditation, photography, Kids and Adult yoga, an Art Studio, and a game illuminating how justice appears in fairy tales.  Hoola hoping and dancing found their place as well, along with two magical nights of old and new Russian bard songs by a well-tended campfire that burnt late into the night.

Transformations took place in the Panoche Hills “desert” as the participants moved one step closer to tasting their personal freedom.   

"Jewish Jury Duty" lead by Eugene Fooksman

Whether through exploring new workshops, cooking, or playing and building together, a group of many relative strangers became new friends while old friends were re-discovered.   Passover came alive, and the community left the “desert” making plans to do it all over again next year, in Panoche Hills, and perhaps even in Jerusalem!

This was another community building experience brought to life by Mishmash Group volunteers. The Mishmash Group is supported by the Jewish community Federation the last 4 years.

Learn more about Mishmash.

The Mishmash Kevah group has a special place in the life of the Mishmash community. We are a group of Russian Jewish young adults who were mostly raised in Russian-speaking countries and have little to no formal Jewish education. Though many of us have typically turned away from organized religion, we are comfortable talking about Judaism as a personal identity. So something like “text study” can sound intimidating at first. However, those of us who were curious and open-minded enough to attend the first Kevah session found out that text study can be an intellectual journey and a journey of Jewish questions and values. We all returned for a second session, regardless of our religious practices.

Mishmash Keva's 1st session: Jewish Tradition Series

Studying text for the first time can be a truly eye-opening and liberating experience. The most important thing about Kevah is that it inspires. It turns out that text study is neither boring nor a purely academic experience – it can be fun, it can be challenging, it can be relevant to our daily lives.

Kevah makes it possible to focus text study around topics that are most relevant to the group. It is amazing that after each session every one of us leaves wanting more.

Israeli dancer shakes up the S.F. dance world with some improv workshops and a view into art/dance as a form of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Israel Center recently co-sponsored a workshop with Arkadi Zaides, Israeli dancer and choreographer. A friend and colleague of mine from my work as a dancer/choreographer, Kara Davis (who runs project agora), has been trying to bring Arkadi to the Bay Area. Though Kara is not Jewish or Israeli herself, she studied dance abroad in Israel before teaching at the Lines Ballet BFA  program and U.C. Berkeley (where I took her class when I was in college).

Arkadi Zaides is an independent choreographer, dancer and teacher. He was born in the Soviet Union in 1979, and immigrated to Israel in 1990. In 2001 he joined the Batsheva Dance Company as a dancer and choreographer, where he stayed until 2004.  Today he lives and works in Tel Aviv. Arkadi is increasingly working in diverse communities, focusing primarily on the Arab sector in Israel. Among the activities he has initiated is a project with the theatre group ‘Oyoun’ in Magdal-Shams (a Druze village in the Golan Heights), as well as a project in Rabeah Morkus’s dance studio (in Yasif village in the north of Israel). Arkadi also teaches a group of orthodox Jewish men as part of the ‘other move project’ in Jerusalem. In 2008 and in 2009 he was awarded Israeli Ministry of Culture and Sport’s prize for ‘young artist of the year in the field of dance’.

I was able to connect Kara with the Israel Center and helped sponsor a weeklong workshop to bring Arkadi here, which happened last week. I cannot say enough about how well this went! Most of the attendees of the workshops at U.C. Berkeley and Kunst-Stoff Arts space were not Jewish or were unaffiliated Jews, between the ages of 15 and 45.  Many of them had never even heard of the Jewish Community Federation. The workshop was expected to accommodate 6-10 people per day, but 25-30 people showed up every day. I took the workshop for one day in Berkeley and one day in S.F. 

Arkadi’s visit not only exposed the unaffiliated Jewish and non-Jewish dancers to Israeli art and the use of art as a way to dialogue about the conflict, but Arkadi’s visit also served to enrich the Russian-Jewish community. Arkadi, who moved to Israel from the Former Soviet Union when he was 11 and has since come out, was a great bridge between the LGBT-Jewish community and the Rusian-Jewish Community’s MishMash group (for young FSU-born Jewish professionals from the Bay Area) . These two communities don’t really connect on many political issues (especially Israeli politics) and aren’t usually interested in the same types of events.  It was quite a treat to see the things that they do connect on and how these connections overshadow the differences that sometimes keeps these communities apart.

The Dome = The Temple 2.O, Photo by: Igor Dralyuk

44 people bravely abandoned the slavery of comfort (or comfort of slavery?) and embarked on their own 4-day Exodus to the “desert” of San Benito wilderness to celebrate Passover with Mishmash. Together under the sun and the stars, aided by nature’s gifts and challenges, we embraced each other into a community, related to our ancestors’ story of Passover and discovered new paths to spiritual freedom. The desert became a blank social and environmental canvas, upon which we had the freedom and ease to create the magical reality we wished to have. Committed to mutual co-inspiration, participants empowered each other to reveal and share their gifts of skills, creativity, wisdom and enthusiasm. We cooked for each other, danced zumba and span poi, celebrated Israel’s quest for independence, discovered our real selves in a role game and Shaolin meditation, discussed secrets of Torah and tradition of Tfilin, jammed in a drum circle and played guitars, reflected on the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and preserved the memories with newly acquired photography skills. The organic blend of three generations, four dogs and a multitude of Jewish personalities embodied our collective spirit of “letting ourselves be” and asserting the freedom of our community. This event made possible by enthusiasm of participants, our dear friends visiting from Jerusalem and New York and excellent implementation of an unorthodox vision by the Mishmash leaders.

The campsite overview- Panoche Hills (approx. 150 miles from SF)

44 attendees, 4 parents, 4 children,
4 dogs, 4 days, 4 questions, 4 opinions.

Examples of our activities:

1. Building the camp.

Preparing decorations and rules for the kitchen

2. Jewish explorations: ʺExodus – a hidden agendaʺ
Ever wondered why G-d needed Pharaoh’s consent to take the Jews out? How is it moral to punish someone after you harden their heart? How come Jews did not receive diplomatic immunity for the 10th plague? Why is the holiday called Passover?
(Pesach) and not Yom Haatzmaut or Day of Freedom? We will re-visit the story of Exodus with a critical eye to look for “a hidden agenda”. Leo Hmelnitsky

2. Zumba Dancing with Ira Kotlik-Konev.

Photo by: Igor Dralyuk

3. Warsaw Ghetto Uprising with Boris Dolin

Boris Dolin captivates us with the story of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

4. Making and baking Matzos over the campfire

• “Very warm and positive atmosphere, community-oriented intention all around.”
•  “The location was fantastic!!! The lectures and spontaneous discussions with other participants were wonderful and great energy.”
• “The most exciting part for me is that everyone contributes…nobody there is just an audience, everyone is on stage sharing something they like – food, story, song, tradition.”

• For more photos visit our Facebook event

- by Irin Kutman Levy, JAFI Emissary for the FSU Emigrés Community San Francisco and Bay Area.

Israel is heaven for war reporters, in the morning you can go to the border and interview peace activist, your article online and hang out in local pub in the evening. Not all 30 world conflict zones so convenient. - Natasha Mozgovaya

Natasha Mozgovaya – a Russian Israeli journalist who is currently the Chief US Correspondent for Ha’aretz Daily, visited San Francisco to meet with the Russian speaking Jewish community. Natasha’s expertise is broad: from politics and war conflicts around the world, to insider’s views into media, to immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, to social networking…

Natasha participated in 5 lectures around the Bay Area (South Bay, East Bay, and San Francisco), with topics ranging from 20 Years of Aliyah from the Former Soviet Union – Challenges and Stories of Success to Israel in the Media – An Inside View. Fluent in Russian, Hebrew, and English, she was able to accommodate the most
diverse audience. With poise, intelligence and class, she answered, even the most challenging questions about Israel. Her presentation about Russian Aliya in Israel, contained the full spectrum of opinions, based on her research, as well as personal experiences and observations. For many years, she was the only one journalist representing the Russian Aliya in Israel, so she was able not only present, but also relate to the subject.

As a Chief US Correspondent, based in Washington D.C., she painted a more realistic picture of the political response of US towards Israel, as well as brought more light into the political situation in Israel. She interviewed both sides in the Middle Eastern conflict and was able to state the facts, verses opinions, which helped us see the problem more clearly.

It is hard to imagine that this petite, charming blond, had such vast variety of experiences and was able to go through often extreme circumstance to deliver the truth to this world. It is inspiration to come across people who are so passionate and driven by the good cause. It makes the world a better place and inspires us to help the fellow human being, as our Jewish laws often teach us.

“When I came to class in September I brought flowers to my teacher, my classmates didn’t stop teasing me for that.”

– Natasha Mozgovaya on cultural differences in Russian absorption

For more information and photos, please visit:

• Facebook page for the San Francisco event

- by Alina Kaufman, Mishmash Program Coordinator

I’ve asked her to introduce herself to you.  Her video below.

If you would like to get in touch with Irin, call her at 415.512.6285 or send an email to IrinKL [at] sfjcf [dot] org.

Poster by created by artist Dan Reisinger in 1969. www.danreisinger.com

In 1990, five-year-old Dima Mostovoy and over 180,000 other Jews emigrated from the Soviet Union.  They were fleeing a system that for decades had oppressed the Jewish people.  In an effort to help, the Federations and United Jewish Appeal created Operation Exodus, a massive undertaking that would eventually fund the transport and settlement of one million Soviet Jews.

With the help of the Federation, Dima and his family settled into the Richmond District of San Francisco.

Two decades later, we had the opportunity to catch up with Dima.  To hear his story, please check out our podcast or read the transcript:

http://www.jewishfed.org/dima

Dima Mostovoy. two decades after Operation Exodus.

Fast Facts:

• 1 in 5 Israelis and Bay Area Jews can trace their roots to Operation Exodus!
• Before Operation exodus, Israel had 27,000 engineers.
  Operation Exodus brought 68,000 more to Israel.
• Our Federation raised $29,779,907 for Operation Exodus.

It may not have resembled a kitchen gathering—the inspired prototype for Mitbachon Retreat for Russian Jewish Young Adults—but the lively crowding of the participants at the Sheraton’s Four Points in San Rafael on the second weekend in February embodied the essence of a raucous family reunion. Half of the eighty-six “Mitbachontzi” flew in from New York while the others drove from all over the SF Bay Area. But regardless of distance traveled, all came a long way to stand at the junction of Russian-, American-, Israeli-Jewish worlds. Most of them were imports of the post-Soviet 90’s immigration and are now fine exhibits of the “American Dream” at work. Together they sacrificed vacation days and endured a selection process for this one of a kind gathering.

So what’s the draw?

Over its four incarnations, Mitbachon has built a genuine following. Its formula is simple: engaging workshops, world-class speakers, communal activities, festive Shabbat and always great music, mostly courtesy of its guitar-toting participants. Each of the four retreats was uniquely themed. This year’s focus invoked the subject of Jewish Peoplehood, visually emblemized by the four Musketeers—the Jewish kind.

The idea of Jewish Musketeers came to the Mitbachon’s creators, Alexandra (Sasha) Belinski, JAFI Emissary for FSU émigrés community in the SF Bay Area, and Anna Vainer, JAFI emissary for FSU émigrés community in New York, who spent their emissary terms inventing ways to engage the elusive demographic of young Russian Jews. Aiming to render Jewish Peoplehood as subject both relevant and tangible, they reached for a place of deep cultural resonance. Duma’s familiar motto, “All for One and One for All” thrust an emotional gateway to a much more cryptic notion of communal Judaism.

Helping traverse this dense subject further were workshops such as David Shneer’s “American Jewish Peoplehood” hevruta-style discourse provoking personal reflections relating to Jewish people and Jewish communities. Through communal brainstorming, participants pondered the slick dimensions of American Judaism and Russian Jewishness, the joys of collective identify and the fetters of this covenant. Also dipping into subjects of Jewish journeys was Maya Bernstein and Ellie Schainker’s seminar, “Immigrant Jews and the Burden of Memory,” looking at the post-WWII revival of Jewish culture in Germany. Over three days, tough questions surfaced time and again  about our common heritage and common fate: what binds us—if anything—as people, as a nation, as a community?

Beyond the classroom, Mitbachon is about building relationships. And true to its tradition, evenings were full of games, improv theater, music, laughter and of course Russian-style conversations running long into the night. The cumulative effect is magical and the question on everyone’s lips is when is the next Mitbachon?

Mitbachon Retreat is made possible by the generous support of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, UJA Federation of New York, COJECO and Genesis Philanthropy Group.

The Mishmash Leadership Program is truly one of a kind, not just in the Bay Area but in North America. The eight-month long course aims to raise communal consciousness in the younger population of the Russian Jews, most of them products of late ’70s and early ’90s immigration tides. Culturally diverse and multilingual, Mishmash participants have signed up to tackle complex questions about core values and responsibilities of being young Russian-American Jews in our community.

Russian Jewish community leaders engage through the Mishmash program

The visionary behind this educational project, Sasha Belinski, an emissary from The Jewish Agency for Israel, working out of the Federation’s Israel Center, built the Mishmash Leadership curriculum around the mission of strengthening the participants’ Jewish identity, their connection to Israel, and their sense of belonging to the local Jewish community. To reach these goals, the program is structured around three core components: personal exploration, Jewish community exploration, and personal leadership initiative. The last component will take shape as a communal project—ranging from a cultural event, to an outdoor adventure or Jewish holiday celebration—that each participant will conceive, plan and deliver as a mindful contribution to the quality of local Jewish life.

For more information contact Sasha at alexandrab@sfjcf.org or 415.512.6285.

So what are these programs?

Genesis was designed as a summer program combining Jewish studies, academics, the arts and humanities, as well as what it means to participate in a diverse Jewish community. Every summer, and even every day, Genesis offers a new experience, because so much of the learning emerges from the unique combinations of teens who come together from different parts of the world, with different interests and experiences of Judaism. Open to incoming 11th and 12th graders.

BIMA brings talented teens together for four weeks in the summer to cultivate a vibrant, pluralistic environment brimming with artistic discovery and Jewish experiences. A BIMA summer experience allows one to hone his or her artistic skills, live and discover in a diverse Jewish community, and explore as an artist. Open to incoming 10th, 11th, and 12th graders.

Genesis will be offering the following courses this summer:

• Journalism and Responsibility
• Judaism and Justice
• Torah of Technology
• World Religions

BIMA will be offering the following majors this summer:

• Film (new this summer)
• Vocal Music
• Instrumental Music (piano and guitar is FULL)
• Jazz Music
• Theater
• Visual arts
• Writing

Dates: July 6-August 6, 2009
July 6 – August 5, 2010

How to apply:

Students interested in the grant first need to apply to the program of their choice. Once accepted you’ll be considered for the scholarship. The application begins online – there are some short online forms and then you can download the application packet. For Genesis, this consists of two short essays, a teacher and parent recommendation, and a high school transcript. For BIMA it is two short essays, a teacher, parent, and art instructor recommendation, and samples of your work.

The links to the applications are:
Genesis – http://www.brandeis.edu/genesis/apply
BIMA – http://www.brandeis.edu/bima/apply