In August we held a 70 year commemoration in honor of 27,000 Jews killed by the Nazis. Here are a couple videos from the event:

March of the Living

Rabbi Lau telling the story about his time in Buchenwald and the person who saved his life:

The Or Avner Jewish Day School of Rostov held a celebration outside school commemorating the beginning of the school year. There were lively performances by the school choir as well as a welcoming ceremony for the new students in 1st grade. Rabbi Danzinger blew the shofar and explained the significance of the upcoming holidays.

This past week the Jewish Community of Rostov completed a week long Jewish seminar for 65 students from Southern Russia. The topic of the seminar was building a Jewish home and focused on Jewish identity, having a chupa, and various other topics of interest to young students.

Rabbi Danzinger was joined by two guest speakers, Rabbi Baitman from Dnepropetrovsk and Rabbi Rochlin from Moscow who gave wonderful lectures and entertained the students until the early hours of the morning.

The Seminar was located in a nice hotel in Goryachi Klutch and was attended by students from Rostov, Krasnodar, Sochi, Armavir, Volgograd, and we even had a couple girls who travelled 48 hours by train all the way from Chelyabinsk.

Aside from two daily lectures, the students enjoyed a fun recreational activity each day. They played paintball, visited nearby waterfalls, went horseback riding in the mountains and got a historical tour of the village.

The students were thrilled with the program, and spent many hours speaking to the Rabbis discussing many aspects pertaining to Jewish life.

The Jewish community of Rostov joined together to celebrate the Rebbe Rashab’s birthday, which occurred on Shabbos, the 20th of MarCheshvan. Rostov Jews have a long tradition of visiting the Ohel of the Rebbe located in the Old Jewish cemetery in the center of the city. On Friday, the Ohr Avner Jewish Day School visited the Ohel and shared a moving experience, praying together at the holy site. For weeks prior to Chof Cheshvan the students were busy preparing creative projects and reports about the Rebbe Rashab, which were then displayed in the Shul at a community lecture on Sunday.

On Sunday, more than 100 people gathered at the Ohel to read their ‘panim’ and pray on behalf of their families and the entire Jewish community. Rabbi Chaim Danzinger explained the various customs associated with visiting the Ohel, and led the recital of Tehilim aloud. Additional letters were brought to the Ohel that were sent by Chassidim from around the world.

After visiting the Ohel, many members of the community gathered in the Shul for a lecture by guest speaker Rabbi DovBer Baitman of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. Rabbi Baitman gave an uplifting and thought-provoking speech about the foundation of Chassidus, the Ten Sefiros, and the importance of keeping the Mitzvot. A separate lecture was held earlier in the afternoon for students and young professionals, focusing on the importance of Jewish marriage and relationships.

The highlights of the day were the Bris Milah ceremonies held for three local Jews aged 22-28, who are now identified by their chosen Jewish names; Yosef, Mordechai and Binyamin.

Finally, the Chof Cheshvan festivities concluded with a lively farbrengen that lasted well into the night. The nigunim and inspiring words of Torah lifted the spirits of all who attended.

“Due to the many challenges facing Jewish communities in Russia, it is particularly important that everyone participate in this special occasion” said Rabbi Danzinger. “In times of hardship, sharing the joy of a Chassidic holiday will bring happiness and blessings to the entire community.”

On Wednesday, Erev Pesach, we made a Birchas Hachama gathering (blessing of the sun) outside the shul, followed by a chametz burning ceremony. We had a very nice turnout considering it was during work hours.

The first night of Pesach we held a community Seder in shul packed to the max (230 people). At the same time, there was a second seder held downstairs for the elderly. The second night there was one seder catered towards children and their families which was very cute and kid-friendly. And as soon as it was finished, everything was cleared up and we started a second seder for college-aged kids. All the Sedorim turned out really beautiful….

Prior to Pesach we distributed 3.5 tons of Matzah as well as 1000 bottles of grape juice…

The Jewish Community of Rostov celebrated the Brit Milah of five adults aged 18-47. Rabbi Chaim Danzinger was honored as the Sandak and congratulated everyone for this very courageous Mitzvah they took upon themselves. The men all chose Jewish names…