By Pearl Markovitz
Rabbi Akiva Pollak, CEO and senior rabbi of SynerJy, is proud to be hosting a summer fellowship program in Passaic. The program brings together students from Fair Lawn and is given assistance from three kiruv organizations, RAJE, JX and JBeatz, located at college campuses throughout New Jersey, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and now Passaic and Fair Lawn.
From June 13 through August 15, over 20 young adults will attend 10 weekly learning sessions at a central location in Passaic. These individuals, ages 18 through 26, who attend secular colleges or work as professionals, have limited Jewish backgrounds but are seeking to increase their knowledge. Many have been recruited to the program by their peers who have attended previous programs. RAJE, one of the three participating organizations, is a kiruv program comprised mainly of students whose families came from the Soviet Union. Currently there is a large Russian community in Fair Lawn, which is one of the reasons that the students were recruited from that location.
The fellowship program will explore topics relevant to daily life as viewed through the prism of Torah. Examples of topics include what “true friendship” in Jewish thought looks like, and the meaning of living a “good life” according to the Torah. Materials from the Aish Hatorah curriculum are utilized, such as the “Why Torah?” and “Five Levels of Pleasure” units. The classes are led by local community residents who teach the students one-on-one, which often leads to close relationships that build upon the students’ feelings of closeness to Judaism and appreciation of the traditional lifestyle.
In addition to the 10 weekly sessions, the program hosts two exciting shabbatonim. The first shabbaton has already taken place in Passaic/Clifton with the participation of the local religious community, who opened their homes to Jewish students they had never met before. One young professional who works in Manhattan attended the shabbaton in Passaic/Clifton. He was so inspired that he decided to take it upon himself to learn the laws of kashrut with the goal of turning over his kitchen. He shared his intention with his parents, who were very open to the idea.
The second shabbaton of the summer will be held in Monsey, where once again local residents will open their homes and provide participants with inspirational experiences. As a result of what he learned at the fellowship, one young man joined a week-long seminar with Yeshivas Ohr Sameach in Upstate New York, which inspired him to spend his winter break at the yeshiva in Yerushalayim.
Adding to the inspirational SynerJy Summer Fellowship Program is the offer of two incredible bonuses available to students. One is a stipend covering the expenses of the classes. The second is the opportunity to participate in a highly subsidized trip to Israel in December led by kiruv rabbis from the U.S. and Israel. Subsidizing these two exceptional offers is the JX Passaic/Clifton Barbecue, which was hosted on July 17 at the home of Shui and Michal Rubin in Clifton. In addition to the sumptuous food, inspirational divrei Torah were offered by Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, morah d’asrah of the Young Israel of Passaic. A large committee of local residents coordinated the event. Over 200 people attended the barbecue celebrating the great work of the organization and generously donating to this important cause. Their campaign is still active for those who would like to participate: http://thechesedfund.com/jx/passaic-clifton-2023/teams/synerjy
Rabbi Pollack has been involved in kiruv for over 20 years. Beginning with his years as a student at Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood where he learned with students who were not yet connected to yiddishkeit, to his years in Somerton, Philadelphia, where he offered classes and was involved in the construction of the eruv and mikvah, he has been actively reaching out to unaffiliated young Jews with great success. He and his family relocated to Passaic more than a year ago to work with RAJE in Brooklyn. Realizing that the local community of Fair Lawn was home to many families from the former Soviet Union, Rabbi Pollack decided to bring his programs closer to home, resulting in the first summer fellowship program.
Rabbi Pollack is very grateful to Rabbi Benjamin Yudin and Rabbi Andrew Markowitz of Congregation Shomrei Torah of Fair Lawn for their encouragement and assistance in this program. He is also grateful for the support of the local communities of Passaic/Clifton and Fair Lawn and looks forward to expanding the learning opportunities throughout the year.
To learn more about the SynerJY Summer Fellowship Program and to contact Rabbi Akiva Pollack, email [email protected] or call 215-828-2895.
