From Israel to...Belarus?!

Last year, I got to celebrate Pesach in Jerusalem, with all of its benefits - only one seder, kosher restaurants open (Italian on Pesach?! potato gnocchi!), picnics in the glorious Jerusalem spring weather...

Instead of this year in Jerusalem though, I'm heading to the cities of Grodno and Lida in Belarus, to lead seders and teach in the Progressive Jewish communities there. Along with 15 of my HUC classmates, we are traveling to communities throughout the Former Soviet Union, as part of the FSU Pesach Project.

Some fun facts:

-There are only SIX Progressive rabbis in the Former Soviet Union!
-Belarus is best known for being a Soviet time capsule.
-The springtime temperature in Lida hovers around a balmy 10 degrees Celsius!
-Grodno is the birthplace of famed Jewish Mafia member Meyer Lansky.
-About 8 years ago, the Jewish community in Belarus constructed a Holocaust memorial to honor the Lida residents who were victims of the Nazis.
-The capital of Belarus is Minsk!

For more information about the project, click here.

I'm fundraising $2,500 towards this trip - any help you can give would be appreciated! Go to this website, and be sure to designate your donation to the FSU Pesach Project and to me, Miriam Farber!


And for your viewing enjoyment...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiQa1jKXRJE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgIrr5V1KDM&NR=1