Volume 5, Issue 5 / Iyar, 5762 / May 2002
Argentinean Rabbinical Students in Israel
By Gail Lichtman
Prepare to Meet the Needs of a Troubled Community
"We see this year we are spending in Israel as providing us with the tools to be better spiritual leaders who can prepare Argentinean Jews for the future - whether it be aliyah or remaining in Argentina," says Marcelo Polakoff, 35, from Buenos Aires who is currently studying in the rabbinical school of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.
Polakoff is one of 10 rabbinical students from the Seminario Rabinico Latino America, the rabbinical school of the Conservative Movement in Buenos Aires, now studying at Schechter, a graduate school of Jewish studies whose rabbinical school ordains for the Masorti Movement in Israel. The Jewish Agency for Israel is a major supporter of the Schechter's rabbinical program.
And while one year of study in Israel is required of all the Seminario's rabbinical students, this year's group of 10 represents an all-time high in the number of Argentinean rabbinical students in Israel, up from an average of only two or three in previous years.
"These students came despite the security situation in Israel and the political and economic unrest in Argentina," notes Rabbi Shlomo Tucker, associate dean of the Schechter rabbinical school. "Many came with their wives and children."
With some 200,000 Jews, Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America. For the past several months, the country has been in the midst of a severe economic and political crisis that has financially wiped out the greater portion of the country's middle class, and with it, most of the assets of the Jewish community.
Polakoff, who had been to Israel previously, arrived at Schechter in October 2001. He left his wife and two children behind in Buenos Aires. "I came to Israel to deepen my connection to the country and Judaism," he notes. "But since I arrived, the situation has changed both in Israel and Argentina. I feel that the knowledge and skills I will be taking home with me from Israel will aid me in helping the Argentinean Jewish community during this time of crisis. I feel that I can help members of the community who would like to make aliyah. Even in the midst of crisis, there is no better place to be a Jew than Israel."
Alexandro Aruj, 31, another Argentinean rabbinical student at Schechter, also left his family behind when he came to Israel. "At first, my family worried about me. But now, I worry a lot more about them than they do about me. Every time the phone rings, I hear more and more about how hard things are there. There is no future, no light at the end of the tunnel in Argentina now, not only for the Jewish community but for everyone. The most realistic future for Argentinean Jews at this stage is aliyah."
Leonel Levy, 25, feels that this year in Israel has been very important in that "I strengthened my identification with the Jews of Israel - with our brothers and sisters in this time of trouble. I also feel I have acquired important academic and professional tools that will be of great assistance to me in working with the Jewish community in Latin America. After such a hard year in Israel, I feel that I can encourage support of Israel and identify with political developments. I feel I can go back and educate Jews about aliyah. I would like to add that even though it was a very difficult year, it was also a very beautiful one that my family and I would not have missed for the world."
Daniel Dolinsky, 33, came to Schechter with his wife and two kids. "I decided to bring the family because my wife had never been to Israel before," he relates. I also wanted my children to experience the country. Yes, we had our fears but in October the situation was different. Over Passover, that changed. But even so, we are still here and I am glad we came as a family. My five-year-old daughter goes to Israeli kindergarten and speaks fluent Hebrew. And my wife is having a wonderful opportunity to get to know Israel."
Dolinsky plans to return to Argentina to work as a community rabbi at Or Hadash synagogue in Buenos Aires. "It is hard to be in Israel and just as hard to look at what is happening in Argentina. But we will return to help the community. The position at Or Hadash was a lot of work when I first accepted it, and now, even more so. In addition to spiritual help, people are in dire need of concrete economic assistance. The challenge is to find the ways to help all in need, whether preparing people for aliyah or providing continued Jewish life - education, synagogues, etc. - for those who choose to remain."
Credits: Courtesy of the Shechter Institute of Jewish Studies
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