1998-1999 Rothberg Yearbook

U k r a in e H ille l
P a s s o v e r P r o je c t
by Rachel Schlenker and Aviva Selekman
We spent this
Pesach in a
place where I
saw the passage of the
Jewish people from slavery
to freedom. A place
where we brought all our
stories, Pesach traditions,
and hope to a place where
hope was once lost. We
were in the Ukraine participating
in the Hillel
Passover Project. After
spending alm ost the
whole year learning about the Jews of the Former Soviet Union, we went to the Ukraine,
where we were paired up with Ukrainian students. Six Hillel students, 10 kilograms
of matzah, lots of tuna (except Steve!), a van, a guard and driver - and a mission. (No,
MTV did not film us). In
the U kraine we conducted
Seders that ranged
from 10 to 200 people,
went to people’s homes to
visit and to bring them
Pesach, found out about
the harsh reality that once
faced the Jews in
U kraine, and brought
them hope for the future
of the Jewish people. This
Pesach many of us
learned about freedom
and realized how fortunate
we are and how we have a responsibility to the Jewish people. All of us were
impacted by our experience and Pesach will never be the same for any of us again.