Over the past six months, I have been so fortunate to collaborate with 18 young Jewish leaders from six different countries through the Roswell K’lal Yisrael Fellowship. The K’lal Yisrael Fellowship unites young Jewish leaders from Europe, Israel and North America with three different week long seminars, one in each location. So far, two of these seminars have sent me to Israel and Budapest where I’ve learned from global Jewish leaders, collaborated with peers from different backgrounds, and shared my experiences as a representative of the GFC community.
A major component of the fellowship that I’ve taken to heart is the power of connection among the Jewish People. In Budapest, we visited a variety of historic synagogues each with different stories, but Rumbach Street Synagogue stood out to me. Rumbach, similar to many of the synagogues in Budapest, features ornate design with a very majestic feel. When we entered the synagogue, I felt a sense of emptiness that I didn’t feel in the other synagogues. While there was light shining in through the beautiful stained glass, the air was still and cold, the paint was a little less vibrant and the carpet was torn up. Unlike the other synagogues we had visited, this one didn’t feel full of life as a synagogue should. Rumbach once hosted a vibrant community of Neolog Jews (a branch of Judaism unique to Hungary), but was left during World War II with no specific community returning to it. At the end of our visit, we took a moment to sing Ozi, a song translated to My Strength. As we sang this song, twenty-two individual voices came together to breath Jewish life into the synagogue. During this song, I didn’t see the synagogue as empty or abandoned; I saw it as welcoming, I saw it as a community, I saw it as strong. If I were to walk into Rumbach alone and sing Ozi, I may feel a sense of spirituality but I wouldn’t feel the community and liveliness that the synagogue once held. This experience encompassed what I’ve found to be so important in this fellowship: when individuals unite, we can create a stronger and more lively community that rejuvenates the Jewish People.
At GFC this summer, we will be partaking in a partnership with Szarvas International Jewish Youth Camp in Hungary to bring a slice of global Jewry to GFC. Szarvas brings hundreds of kids every summer from Europe, Israel, and the US together, specifically working towards bringing Jewish life to young Eastern European Jews. GFC and Szarvas will unite this summer to bring a stronger sense of global Jewry through an individual and camp-wide basis. To prepare campers for Shabbat each week at GFC, each camper will be participating in a program such as communicating through art, sharing traditions, or making direct contact with Szarvas campers. Each unit will interact with Szarvas in a unique way towards the overall goal of bringing our communities together.
It is my hope that through this project, our GFC community will feel the same sense that I felt in the Rumbach Street Synagogue: empowerment. When we build bridges and unite together, we can create a stronger and more meaningful community.