(Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Krivoi Rog, Donetsk, and Kyiv) Report of a ...

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86 Notwithstanding the relatively large size (26,000 to 70,000 people) of the Kyiv Jewish population, Jewish community life in the capital remains weak and lacking in spirit. Kyiv, said one observer, is a city of Jewish offices, but almost empty of Jewish life, as such. Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine, appears to be absent from the country on more days than he is present, and no other individual has emerged as a leader of Kyiv Jewry. The majority of Kyiv Jews remain aloof from all organized Jewish activity. Not only is there little noticeable dynamic Jewish life in Kyiv itself, but the capital seems to provide little stimulus or direction for Jewish life in the rest of the country. Jewish Education 56. The Orach Chaim day school (School #299), operating under the auspices of Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, is the oldest of five Jewish day schools in Kyiv. It currently enrolls a total of about 200 pupils in grades one through 11, 78 a significant decline from its peak enrollment of approximately 470. Boys’ and girls’ classes meet in separate buildings, each a former preschool located some distance from the center of the city. The general Jewish demographic decline is but one factor in the loss of pupils; the remote locations of the buildings, their lack of modernity, a secular curriculum that lags behind that of elite public and new private schools, the intensity of the Orthodox Jewish curriculum, the requirement that all pupils be halachically Jewish, and the single-gender education model are additional significant deterrents to greater enrollment. The need to maintain four separate buildings (schools for boys and for girls, dormitories for boys and for girls) imposes a major financial burden on the Orach Chaim system. The dormitories now accommodate approximately 20 youngsters, whereas they previously housed over 60 children. Khariton Gilgur, the veteran and respected principal of the school, expressed doubt about its future. The frequent and protracted absences of Rabbi Bleich, he said, contribute to a sense of drift in several of his endeavors, including the school. Among the most problematic issues is the “antiquated” state of the school buildings; 79 Mr. Gilgur fears that they will fail periodic city inspections. A new stimulus to declare one or more of the buildings unsuitable is that the municipality now acknowledges a shortage of 78 An additional 35 boys are enrolled in a related heder and 30 girls attend a related machon with an intensive Jewish studies course. Seventy children attend an associated preschool. The heder is located in a building adjacent to the synagogue, the machon is located in the girls’ school, and preschool classes are held in an Orach Chaim dormitory building. 79 Most of the four buildings were constructed in the 1960’s of material that is “more sand than cement,” said Principal Gilgur in 2009. The girls’ school, in particular, has an unattractive façade, covered in graffiti and with several broken outer windows. Orach Chaim must replace 100 broken windows in its four buildings every year, acknowledged Mr. Gilgur. (The damage appears to be perpetrated by common vandals – “bandits,” as they are called in Ukraine - rather than by antisemites, Mr. Gilgur stated.)
87 preschools. Authorities could force closure of an Orach Chaim building and return it to city control; after renovation, said Mr. Gilgur, it could be opened as a city preschool. Municipal education authorities impose a battery of tests to monitor student progress in city schools, said Mr. Gilgur. Orach Chaim pupils do well on these examinations, he continued; the school even has received academic achievement awards of new classroom technology and grants for travel to historic sites. However, he noted, the city is not obligated to pay salaries of teachers of secular classes with fewer than 30 pupils – and many Orach Chaim classes have only 20. The first grade has only 18 pupils. Orach Chaim cannot survive if it has to provide resources for the compensation of teachers of secular subjects, as well as religious subjects. 80 All teachers are paid on time, said Mr. Gilgur. Some donors pay vendors, including food purveyors, directly without going through Orach Chaim. Mr. Gilgur is speaking with an American Jewish man who has lived in Kyiv for many years about potential support of the school, but does not know if this individual’s ideas would be acceptable to Rabbi Bleich. The Jewish studies curriculum now includes two classes (one in Hebrew and one in Jewish tradition) every day on Monday through Thursday, but only one class on Friday due to an early dismissal for Shabbat. Avi Chai supports several Shabbatonim every year, but payment for these programs is made through a bureaucratic process involving the Joint Distribution Committee. Management of the Avi Chai grant is very expensive, said Mr. Gilgur. Khariton Gilgur, right, has been principal of the Orach Chaim school since it was established in 1990. Photo: the writer. Some alumni of Orach Chaim have started to support the school, but only at a low level, said Mr. Gilgur. Few of them are capable of making large gifts, he observed. Most graduates attend local universities or colleges, Mr. Gilgur said; very few of them expressed any interest in attending a yeshiva, and their current interest in Orach Chaim focuses on the secular curriculum, not the religious studies component. 81 80 Generally, the government pays base salaries of all teachers of secular subjects. However, it is very common for Jewish day schools and other specialized schools to provide bonuses for the most gifted teachers as compensation for low state salaries. The Ministry of Education of the State of Israel pays salaries and other expenses for some Israeli instructors of Hebrew and religious subjects who teach in post-Soviet Jewish day schools. 81 See pages 107-109 for a report of an interview with Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich.
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OBSERVATIONS ON JEWISH COMMUNITY LI
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3 begin to pay taxes that they had
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5 Dnipropetrovsk Founded in 1778 on
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7 The major entrance to the Menorah
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9 The preschool is operating “at
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11 pupils (503) and the number of y
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13 families whose relationship to C
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15 boys’ home (a former synagogue
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17 The overwhelming majority of lit
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19 homes, sometimes bringing them s
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21 program in Kharkiv come to Beit
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23 return for the teaching done by
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25 started as more funds become ava
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27 Holocaust, and rebirth of Jewish
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29 manufacturer inevitably will ent
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31 Two newcomers were expected to j
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33 individual needs, providing food
Page 35 and 36: 35 managing. He has heard of very f
Page 37 and 38: 37 committee for the clinic was est
Page 39 and 40: 39 Jewish community. Another 120 in
Page 41 and 42: 41 Natalia Rier, who directs the lo
Page 43 and 44: 43 speakers are fluent in English a
Page 45 and 46: 45 The consul noted that the ICC wi
Page 47 and 48: 47 Ms. Katz confirmed that Hesed Me
Page 49 and 50: 49 Dnipropetrovsk. The relationship
Page 51 and 52: 51 It is very difficult to raise mo
Page 53 and 54: 53 are the daughters of local rabbi
Page 55 and 56: 55 requires that all private school
Page 57 and 58: 57 Vkontakte, to recruit students a
Page 59 and 60: 59 seniors purchase in order to rec
Page 61 and 62: 61 Rabbi Moskovitz noted, a busines
Page 63 and 64: 63 writer met with George Faingold,
Page 65 and 66: 65 males if they would willingly se
Page 67 and 68: 67 utilities, petrol, transportatio
Page 69 and 70: Jewish Education and Culture 69 44.
Page 71 and 72: 71 46. It is common in Ukraine and
Page 73 and 74: 73 purchase new clothing. Donetsk,
Page 75 and 76: 75 The fitness hall is a gift from
Page 77 and 78: 77 National and International Jewis
Page 79 and 80: 79 drain”, but she doesn’t yet
Page 81 and 82: Jewish Education and Culture 81 52.
Page 83 and 84: 83 Surrounding the prayer hall are
Page 85: 85 the program is very expensive to
Page 89 and 90: 89 in its generally poor neighborho
Page 91 and 92: 91 connected to the Internet; howev
Page 93 and 94: 93 60. Rabbi Yonatan and Mrs. Ina M
Page 95 and 96: 95 accounting procedures require th
Page 97 and 98: 97 Other individuals in Kyiv with w
Page 99 and 100: 99 64. An organization bearing the
Page 101 and 102: 101 group, but the young women them
Page 103 and 104: 103 worked in Jewish schools and ca
Page 105 and 106: 105 Lo Tishkach arranges all travel
Page 107 and 108: 107 Ukraine in this period. They cl
Page 109 and 110: 109 kashrut, and/or work in secular
Page 111 and 112: 111 Odesa, said Rabbi Dukhovny, pro
Page 113 and 114: The writer observed 12 to 15 univer
Page 115 and 116: 115 and funds simply do not exist,
Page 117 and 118: 117 rightwing antisemites, i.e., ne
Page 119 and 120: 119 songs, the Holocaust, Jewish he
Page 121 and 122: 121 countries are eligible for aliy
Page 123 and 124: 123 The JDC welfare caseload in the
Page 125 and 126: 125 In response to a question, both
Page 127 and 128: 127 Commentary 84. The Jewish popul
Page 129: 129 accommodates modernity and thei
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(Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Krivoi Rog, Donetsk, and Kyiv) Report of a ...

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