Community Outreach

Yad Yisroel gives a helping hand to Jewish communities all over Belarus through an extensive network of community services.

These include: chevra kadisha burial and kosher mikvah facilities; bringing Jewish couples together via a pool of eligible young men and women and providing Mishpacha Kehalacha instruction for Jewish newlyweds, publishing siddurim, tanachim, textbooks with Jewish content and other seforim in Hebrew, English and Belarusian and distributing them to Jewish communities at discount rates.

Chesed Emergency Fund

Yad Yisroel is ever mindful of the collective and individual needs of the Jewish community, especially in times of crisis.

Yad Yisroel’s strong presence in the community is brought to light by the actions we take in emergency situations. When a Jew is in need of immediate medical attention, he/she does not always have medical coverage to pay for treatment or even a means of transport to the nearest hospital, and we are often called upon to help fulfill these needs.

For the most part we have provided this assistance on a local level, though in some cases we have also arranged for patients to be transported to hospitals in Europe and Israel where they can benefit from the most advanced treatment and medical facilities.

We also perform various chesed activities for those who are unemployed, cannot pay their rent, heat their homes, feed and clothe their families or provide basic nutrition for newborn babies. These activities are carried out in various chesed campaigns for the needy: We run a soup kitchen in Pinsk and distribute kosher meals on a daily basis as well as food packages for Jewish holidays in countrywide locations; we also provide clothing, shoes, blankets and electric heaters to those in need at various distribution stations.

Our acts of chesed are rooted in the passage: “The world rests upon three things, Torah, avodah, and gemilut hasadim.” (Pirkei Avot 1:2).  Drawing from this Rabbinical inspiration, Yad Yisroel lends a helping hand to the needy in Jewish communities all over Belarus.

All Yad Yisroel community services rely on kind donations from strong supporters and a corps of dedicated volunteers who operate in such far and wide locales as: Pinsk, Minsk , Brest, Vitebsk, Mogillov, Baranovich, Slonim, Volozhin, Gommel, Polotzk, Bobruisk, Kalinkovich, Rechitsa,  Mozyr, Slutzk and Grodno.

Moreover, Yad Yisroel’s community outreach services extend to the provinces, connecting isolated Jewish families with mainstream Belarusian Jewish communities.

Shabbatonim Project

Yad Yisroel organizes weekend Shabbatonim to enrich Belarusian Jewry

In keeping with its goal of spreading knowledge of Torah and yiddishkeit to Jews of all backgrounds and levels of religious observance, Yad Yisroel holds regular Shabbaton seminars on a wide variety of Jewish themes.

The Shabbatonim are organized in accordance with the participants’ comprehension of Judaism. For example, youth who have only a rudimentary knowledge of the Aleph Beit and stories from the Tanach receive instruction at a beginners’ level, while graduates of the Sunday School Cheder and other Yad Yisroel educational programs are challenged with more intensive seminars delivered by accomplished rabbis and Judaic studies lecturers.

Subjects at the seminars range from basic mitzvoth, tefilot and Hebrew language instruction to the Mishna, Gemorah, Pirkei Avot, Shulchan Aruch and myriad of other rabbinical texts. The teachings of Talmudic authorities such as Beit Hillel, the commentator Rashi and the renowned Jewish philosopher Rambam highlight stirring lectures and open class discussions.

The Shabbatonim, which commence on Friday and last through Sunday, are hosted by Yad Yisroel who provide lodging, Shabbat meals and the atmosphere of a Jewish home to participants from all over Belarus and other points in the former Soviet Union, in addition to groups from all over the world.

The Shabbaton experience strengthens the Jewish identities of many youth and adults who seek to enrich their knowledge of yiddishkeit.

Once the pandemic is over, Yad Yisroel will resume organizing shabbatonim according to regions and summer camps for Jewish families, with the hope that the parents send their children to Yad Yisroel’s Schools.

Venue

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor labore.

24 Feb, 2020

9:00am 02:00pm

New York

Organizer

Lorem ipsum dolor consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor labore.