Jewish young adults participated in the seminar “Discover Yourself,” organized by the Jewish community of Chelyabinsk. The seminar, which took place over an extended weekend at the end of the month, involved 20 young adults from different cities, including Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, the Samara Region and the Republic of Bashkortostan. The Lake Chebarkul Resort near Chelyabinsk was the venue for the seminar.
The main lecturer at the seminar was Rabbi Alex Artovsky who was born in Russia and now resides in Israel. The rabbi’s topics included the secrets of the holy language, the mystery of dreams, marriage from a Jewish perspective, the eternality of the Jewish people, and the importance of Jewish family life and Jewish communal life.
In addition to the lectures and workshops throughout the weekend, the young men participated in winter sports including skiing, ice skating and snow boarding. The high point of the seminar was a beautiful Shabbat celebration, with many of the attendees celebrating Shabbat for the first time in their lives. Everyone stayed up into the wee hours of the night, taking the opportunity to speak with Rabbi Artovsky, other staff, and the Chief Rabbi of Chelyabinsk Meir Kirsch.