Russian Mum’s Day
The Russian-speaking Jewish community has celebrated both Mother’s Day and Lag Ba Omer in what have become traditional events for the community.
Kangarusski is the Russian-speaking Jewish Community department of the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) which works to engage the Russian-speaking members of our community with both Jewish and Israel content. It has been further developed by a dedicated volunteer base with the desire to celebrate their Jewish heritage and revive their Australian Jewish social epicentre.
Every year Kangarusski families get together to celebrate their mothers and gather around the bonfire with baked potatoes and melted marshmallows for Lag B’Omer and this year saw over 100 people join together for the Kangarusski Kartoshka Night.
At Sydney’s Randwick Community Centre a group of enthusiastic volunteers put on a show for mothers. The children read poems and Israeli music played as guests shared a warm evening among their families and friends.
Rami Teplitskiy, shaliach from Jewish Agency: – “Congratulations to our Sydney community who have grown the Kangarusski organisation through their absolute dedication and energy. We have a great strong community here in Sydney and amazing group of volunteers who devote their free time and effort for the needs of our community.”
Everyone had a great time at the event and the beauty of a grassroots community such as this is the expression of gratitude and willingness to help with future events.
Marina Barski said: – “My family attended several Kangarusski events and my kids joined all Kangarusski camps. They have learned a great deal about Jewish traditions and festivals and we are always looking forward to the next celebrations.”
Iana Romanov, is a mother of one of the Kangarusski volunteers, she said: – “Thank you for caring and looking after our community. You educate us, entertain us, touch our hearts and very importantly create a sense of community for Russian speaking Jews of Sydney.”