Ezra USA Past Events
Karaoke nights at Ezra USA are a monthly program of singing, dancing, and meeting the Taglit Birthright Isreal trips alumni from different groups.The Karaoke nights are presented by Ezra USA, but usually fully prepared by the Madrichim. This great event allows our participants to meet the new members of Ezra USA and to reconnect with existing members and friends. And there is no better way to do it then at a good bar with some good drinks and some familiar music.
When the Russian culture meets Israeli culture, something very interesting can happen. Last Wednesday the Sushi and Movie Night brought together over twenty people to enjoy an Israeli movie called “For My Father” and, as usual, they had a discussion about the film’s themes and implications. This was especially interesting because this movie shows some Israeli situations in an unusual light. Even in Israel this movie turned into a taboo breaker for some people. While they watched and talked, Ezra USA participants also enjoyed a wonderful sushi meal. And so, Ezra USA keeps following its tradition of bringing the Israeli-Jewish culture to Russian speaking Jews in NY and getting the Russian Jewish perspective on it.
Limmud FSU brings together and empowers young Russian Jewish adults who are revitalizing Jewish communities and culture in the countries of the Former Soviet Union, as well as in countries with Russian speakers around the world and you can’t find a better place to gather with your friends for a Reunion. That is exactly what Ezra USA did. Ezra participants spent the day attending sessions with community leaders, scholars and entertainers, as well as socializing. The evening ended with a very public “Thank You” to the great Madrichim of the summer of 2010.
On a hot August day, sixty-five adventurers headed to the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania on an Ezra USA rafting trip. Armed with paddles, buckets and a water-gun or ten, they set out on a 8-mile trip down the river. Water fights, races and fair amount of floating about ensued. There was singing, rowing and laughter, as well as lost paddles, men-overboard and even a bruise or two. There was a lunch that tasted delicious, not because the turkey and egg salad were particularly special, but because all that hard work, fun and excitement had worked up a serious appetite. Watermelons were cut and shared on the shore and the adventure continued down rapids and through a forest. At the end of the day, 65 wet and smiling faces headed home and talked about who had drenched who. 
Ezra USA has started its summer early this year with 3 groups heading out to Israel in May. Dima Krasny from May 6a group says that that alone might well have made the trip special! Everyone in the group has found something that resonated profoundly with them. For some, it was the visits (two!) to the old city, culminating with the Western Wall; for some it was the remote and pristine Dead Sea; some fell in love with the beach in Netanya; others still were moved by Tzfat, Tiberias and the spiritual and physical beauty of the north. For every spot visited, at least three people would approach the madrichim and ask, "Can we just stay here the rest of the time?" And this was not a trivial question coming from an impatient child - it came from people who had just found a long-missing piece of themselves in our ancestral homeland... May 6b group, called “Alejanjews” , like all the Ezra groups, were met in the Ben Gurion airport with the famous words: "Welcome to Israel, welcome home!" First stop, Jerusalem! They toured the beautiful city and finally got to the Western Wall. For many, this was an unforgettable experience and they were moved to tears as they came closer and closer to the wall. Right before the eyes of 50 people, a couple from the group got engaged. That made the experience even more special for all. 
With the first day in Israel behind and with so much that has already happened they were looking forward to the rest of the trip and for more new and exciting things to come. Throughout this experience they boarded the plane as 40 strangers, and they left Israel as 40 friends :) Ezra group of May 24 or “Stoned Turtles” was the most spiritual one. Their path towards discovering their Jewish identity started on the plane, where a bunch of the Chabbad Lubavich movement representatives offered to the guys to put on a tfillin. For most of the Ezra participants it was first experience of that kind. The conversations were deep and inspiring, and the questions were challenging, and flew weigh beyond the aircraft. When the group visited the Western wall, the place where the Jewish people have been praying and crying for thousands of years, some of the guys asked to hold a ceremony of Bar Mitzvah, which they never had. Dancing and singing at the Kotel, the holiest place for the Jewish people, could be heard across the ocean. The celebration was powerful and meaningful, and ended with a few Le’Chaims, gratuitously offered by the local Chabbad people.
