August 8, 2003

OU Leadership Program in Ukraine Provides a Jolt of Jewish Energy to NCSY Teens

Danielle Charlap was understandably exhausted when she returned home to Newton, MA after the long flight from Ukraine, but before resting she took the time to sit down at her computer to send a message to her friends and to Rabbi Mordechai Smolarcik. “Thank you for an amazing, amazing summer,” Danielle wrote adding, “A trip such as this is one you never forget, but coupled with such an amazing group, it is one of those experiences you always hope to recapture.”

With 33 other 11th and 12 graders from Jewish day schools, Danielle had just completed a summer program of the Orthodox Union’s National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) which provided a true jolt to her Jewish existence – JOLT – Jewish Overseas Leadership Training. NCSY selected young people with demonstrable leadership skills and Torah knowledge and sent them on a five-week odyssey through lands in which Jews were once oppressed and massacred, and then on to Israel for a program, which as Danielle made clear, they would never forget.

Rabbi Smolarcik, who during the school year is Regional Director of the NCSY Southern Region, based in North Miami Beach, FL., led the group, assisted by Rabbis Chaim Klainberg, Assistant Director of the Central East NCSY Region in suburban Detroit, and Rabbi Yehuda Lowy of Columbus, OH.

The JOLT program was centered around three weeks at the OU/NCSY camp for Jewish Youth in Ukraine, a program of the OU’s Joseph K. Miller Torah Center in Kharkov. There, Danielle and her friends developed their leadership skills by serving as counselors to Ukrainian children, building on the year-round work of the Miller Torah Center and its Rabbi, Shlomo Asraf, to create a renaissance of Jewish life in that part of the Former Soviet Union. Then, traveling home, the NCSYers visited the death camps in Poland before moving on to Jerusalem and Safed in Israel to reflect on their experiences before returning to America.

Even as the 33 teens arrived home, a second JOLT group of 45, added this year because of the program’s success in 2002, was following a similar itinerary to JOLT I.

“I was soooo nervous before coming, but because of the great atmosphere, the trip was even better than the itinerary itself,” Danielle Charlap wrote to her friends and to Rabbi Smolarcik. “We have been through so much together as we learned about our Jewish history and our Jewish future. As one of you wisely put it, every part of this trip came together like a puzzle. We saw Jewish communities destroyed, we saw an inspiring and blossoming Jewish community in Ukraine, and we ended up lucky enough to see the strongest Jewish community alive – Israel.”

“On this trip,” Danielle continued, “I came to fully appreciate Israel in contrast to the horrors we saw – places where Jews were not permitted to live and even persecuted because of their faith. With such a contrast, I came to appreciate much, much more strongly Israel as the Jewish state, but more importantly, our intense need for this holy land.”

To Rabbi Smolarcik an admiring Danielle wrote, “I also need to personally thank you for your captivating emotional speeches which really touched me. Without them, I don’t think the experience would have been as strong.”

Parents noticed changes in their returning children. As Fran and Allen Ganz of Woodmere, NY wrote to Rabbi Smolarcik about their son’s experience, “Shimon had such a wonderful time, he can’t stop talking about it. We know this experience will stay with him forever.” Dr. Alicia Rosengarten of Robinsville, NJ similarly informed Rabbi Smolarcik about her son Clark, “He has come back home so invigorated, so much more mature and committed to Judaism and Jewish values we were amazed. These five weeks made such a deep difference in his life, and we will always be grateful for your guidance and the experience with the children of Kharkov that changed his life.”

Teaneck, New Jersey's Dr. Alan Greenspan, the father of Ari, traveled to Kharkov to see for himself and spent the Sabbath with the young people. "As for me," he wrote to OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb and parents of JOLTers, "it was a Shabbos I will never forget. The ruach (spirit) was amazing. Sitting at the Shabbos meals with American JOLTers and the Ukrainian children was an emotional high. Everybody had bonded. They were singing Hebrew songs and dancing together throughout the meals. The Ukrainian children have little to no Jewish background which made it all that much more amazing to watch. Of course, the davening was amazing also. Two of the Ukrainian girls received Jewish names, and some of the boys were called to the Torah for the first time. When the kids get home they will tell their parents all about it, but until you've actually seen and lived it yourself, you will never totally appreciate what an amazing experience it was for them."

"On a personal note,” continued Dr. Greenspan, “I have to let all of you know what an incredible bunch of kids you have. I am sure as parents you are all proud of them, but I was blown away by all that they are doing to help bring Torah to Ukraine. I was honored to spend Shabbos with them. Most importantly you should know that your kids are in incredibly capable hands. Rabbi Lowy and Rabbi Klainberg are super leaders for the group. I was glad I could spend one Shabbos with them. We are lucky that our kids can spend five weeks with them. Last but not least, I must praise Rabbi Asraf, the Rabbi for the Jewish community of Kharkov. Without him there would be none of this. It is he who brings Torah to Kharkov 52 weeks a year, not just the three weeks our kids are there. What he has done and continues to do is truly amazing."

To apply for next summer’s JOLT program, contact Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch, NCSY Director of Education and Summer Programs, at 212-613-8202, or schonbuchd@ou.org.

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