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Chanukah Cards for Mitzvah Day
Hundreds of students in Russia and England have designed and made colourful Chanukah cards to send to each other as part of a British ORT Mitzvah Day project.
For what was British ORT’s first time taking part in Mitzvah Day – an international Jewish-led day of social action – 400 kids aged from seven to 14 at London’s Immanuel College, Kerem School and Alyth Gardens Synagogue cheder, and the ORT-Mishpahteynu School in Kazan learned about each other’s experiences before throwing themselves into expressing seasonal wishes to each other.
“They were excited by the fact that the cards they were making would be delivered to kids on the other side of the world – and that at the moment they were making theirs, the kids in Kazan were making cards to send to them,” said British ORT Community Outreach Officer Sarah Abda, who spent time with the London schoolchildren.
Ms Abda told the English children about their peers at ORT-Mishpahteynu, one of 17 ORT schools in the Former Soviet Union. The school is seen as the best in the mainly Muslim Republic of Tatarstan.
“They could see from the photos that their schooling is similar to their own. But they also appreciated that there have been many more challenges in the way of Jewish children in Russia wanting to enjoy that level of learning compared to this country,” she said.
The cards contain the blessings to be recited over lighting the Chanukah candles as well as photos and personal messages. The children in Kazan will use them when visiting elderly members of their community to help them light their menorahs.
British ORT’s Director of Fundraising, Dr Noga Zivan, said the Mitzvah Day project went beyond telling people about ORT’s work for Jews in the Former Soviet Union.
“We want people to see what ORT does on their own level, in this case children interacting with people their own age. But we believe an exercise like this helps young people here to get a sense of the wider Jewish world,” Dr Zivan said.
“They were excited by the fact that the cards they were making would be delivered to kids on the other side of the world – and that at the moment they were making theirs, the kids in Kazan were making cards to send to them,” said British ORT Community Outreach Officer Sarah Abda, who spent time with the London schoolchildren.
Ms Abda told the English children about their peers at ORT-Mishpahteynu, one of 17 ORT schools in the Former Soviet Union. The school is seen as the best in the mainly Muslim Republic of Tatarstan.
“They could see from the photos that their schooling is similar to their own. But they also appreciated that there have been many more challenges in the way of Jewish children in Russia wanting to enjoy that level of learning compared to this country,” she said.
The cards contain the blessings to be recited over lighting the Chanukah candles as well as photos and personal messages. The children in Kazan will use them when visiting elderly members of their community to help them light their menorahs.
British ORT’s Director of Fundraising, Dr Noga Zivan, said the Mitzvah Day project went beyond telling people about ORT’s work for Jews in the Former Soviet Union.
“We want people to see what ORT does on their own level, in this case children interacting with people their own age. But we believe an exercise like this helps young people here to get a sense of the wider Jewish world,” Dr Zivan said.