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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/26794/full/26794/russian-emigres-get-first-taste-of-judaism-in-israel/ <br /><br /> <b>Russian emigres get first taste of Judaism in Israel</b> <br /> Friday, August 19, 2005 | by alexandra j. wall <br /><br /><p>A few months ago, Alex Valdman — a 22-year-old student at San Francisco State University — had his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall.<br /><br /> Valdman neither speaks nor reads any Hebrew, and at his bar mitzvah, he repeated every phrase to the Torah blessing after someone said it before him.<br /><br /> Born in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, Valdman came to San Francisco in the early '90s. Like so many Jews from the former Soviet Union, he had no contact with the Jewish community once he arrived in the United States.<br /><br /> His parents only heard about a trip to Israel from reading the local Russian newspaper. And Valdman figured a free trip was nothing to scoff at.<br /><br /> The trip took 24 Bay Area Jews who originally came from the former Soviet Union to Israel for 10 days. While Taglit-Birthright Israel has been offering free 10-day trips to young American Jews ages 18 to 26 for quite some time now, this trip was tailored specifically for Russian Jews with no Jewish education. It was sponsored by Birthright Israel and the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, and was led by Rabbi Shimon Margolin, a San Francisco rabbi who serves as spiritual leader for the Russian-speaking Jewish community.<br /><br /> "So many Russian Jews come here and completely fall through the cracks," said Margolin. "They don't take part in Hillel, they're not affiliated with synagogues or the JCC. We realized that a Birthright trip was the only chance for them to connect to Judaism."<br /><br /> Margolin said that of the 24 emigres, 16 had a b'nai mitzvah on the trip. In a simple ceremony, each was called to the Torah to recite a blessing.<br /><br /> Additionally, because the trip was co-sponsored by a yeshiva, it is one of the only Birthright-sponsored trips on which a rabbi accompanies the group.<br /><br /> Valdman was able to observe Shabbat for the first time on the trip, an experience he is yearning for again.<br /><br /> "The trip made me want to get in touch with the Jewish community," he said.<br /><br /> And though he is not a particularly spiritual person, he recalled a trip highlight in which a flock of white doves flew overhead during his bar mitzvah.<br /><br /> The experience, as a whole, "made me feel so lucky to be a Jew," he said. "I can't wait to go back."</p>

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