OUR MISSION
Learn about what drives us every day
To provide for the material and spiritual needs of every Jew living in Rostov and surrounding areas.
For generations, our community has faced unthinkable odds.
When we celebrate a Jewish wedding…
When we host a Shabbaton for our youth…
When we help a young mother feed her family…
When we bring joy to our Holocaust survivors…
When we facilitate a bris milah…
OUR MISSION
We are honoring their legacy and their refusal to relinquish their heritage. We are providing comfort, bringing joy, nurturing souls, and building generations.
“I made a promise to establish a Jewish home in her honor.”
My great-grandmother was miraculously saved from the Nazis. I am her only remaining descendant, and I made a promise to marry a Jewish girl and establish a Jewish home in her honor. It’s an amazing feeling to have had the first Chuppah in Rostov in over a decade. My wife and I are also honored that our wedding inspired three more couples to commit to having a Jewish wedding. —Aaron, 28
“This is my only chance to learn about my heritage and traditions.”
This is my second year attending Camp Gan Israel. Camp is so much fun! I especially like it because I live a few hours away from the nearest Jewish community, and this is my only chance to learn about my heritage and traditions. —Polina, 13
MEET THE DANZINGER FAMILY
One late night in 2007, Rabbi Chaim Danzinger got a phone call.
“There is a city in Russia with 15,000 Jews but no Rabbi. Would you consider moving there with your wife?”
Rabbi Danzinger and his wife Kaila were living in Pasadena, California at the time. But the question, while seemingly radical, awakened something within him.
As a student, Rabbi Danzinger had spent many summers in Russia and had gotten to know the local Jews up close. He was awed by their perseverance and commitment to Judaism, even after having endured so many challenges and so much persecution throughout their fraught history. He was moved by the people's sincerity, warmth and love for one another, for their Jewish heritage and traditions.
So in 2008, with the blessing of the Chief Rabbi of Russia, the Danzingers left their home in California and moved—with their 2 children at the time—to the city of Rostov-on-Don, where they now oversee Jewish life in the region.
“We feel humbled to be able to honor the legacy of the strong Jewish community that once existed in Rostov and to help rebuild it for future generations—so that they, too, can know the beauty of their Jewish heritage,” says Mrs. Kaila Danzinger.
Today, with a thriving synagogue, one of the most active youth groups in Russia, a Jewish day school, an overnight camp, humanitarian aid services, support for holocaust survivors, a dynamic women's club, and new programs every year, the Danzinger family is as committed as ever to their mission.
“We came to Rostov to inspire the Jews living here who have made such tremendous self-sacrifice to remain Jewish,” says Rabbi Danzinger. “But more than we’ve inspired the local Jews, the local Jews have inspired us.”
“More than we’ve inspired them, the local Jews have inspired us.”
Your donation is appreciated.
Your partnership is invaluable.
Whether you donate, volunteer, or spread the word, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making a lasting impact on the community of Rostov today and for future generations.
