Active Summer for Jewish Youth of Bryansk

Bryansk, Russia –- Despite the fact that many residents of Russia use their summer holidays to take a break from everything, Jewish youth in the city of Bryansk have decided to carry on their activities as usual. Through the ‘STARS’ program, they have been enthusiastically living an active Jewish life.

Participants meet up twice a week in order to attend lessons on the Torah and to discuss the actual developments and challenges concerning the Jewish community. They also enjoy the guidance of Chief Rabbi of Bryansk Menachem Mendel Zaklos, who is serving the region as a Chabad Lubavitch emissary.

This past weekend was particularly memorable, involving a trip to Lubavitch to visit several the resting places of the founders of the Chabad movement, the Jewish museum, and a monument commemorating Jews murdered during the Holocaust. Their journey did not stop there, since they then stopped over in Smolensk. There, they met with Rabbi Levi Mondshine, who told them about the local Jewish community and treated them to a communal kosher meal.

The Jewish communities of Bryansk and Smolensk, both of which are situated along the Russian border, are members of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.