BJC Cuba Mission 2008 Presentation & Reunion

Tuesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall

HELP US HELP OUR FRIENDS IN CUBA

In January and February, we will be holding a medicine and toiletries drive in preparation for BJC’s 2008 Mission to Cuba. There will be boxes placed outside of the BJC office where you can deposit your donation. Due to the U.S. trade embargo, basic medicines are in very short supply and even when available are not affordable on the average Cuban’s salary of $5 – $14 per week. We ask that all members participate by bringing some of the following item to BJC, where we will collect them to be packaged and shipped to Cuba.

UNEXPIRED PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS

Asthma Medication, Cimetidine, Clortrimazole, Captopril, Monopril, Cipro, Floxin, Levaquin, Zithromax, Hypertension Medications, Flomax, Proscar, Metronidazole, Monopril, Nizoral (Cream), Syringes (Plastic), Trental, Triamncinolona Cream (cortisone cream), Ranitidin, Omeprazole

OVER THE COUNTER MEDICINES

Multivitamins for both adults and children, Throat Lozenges, Vitamin C , Diarrhea/Constipation Remedies, Vitamin E 400 mg., Hand & Face Creams, Allergy & Cold Sprays, Pain Relievers (e.g., Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Tylenol, Advil.) Antacids (e.g., Mylanta, Maalox, Tums, Pepto-Bismol), Antibiotic Cream and Hydrocortisone Cream, Desitin for diaper rash, Polivisol drops for infants and liquid vitamins for babies and toddlers, Cold & Flu Remedies, Lice treatment, Band-Aids, Cough Medications, Sun screen, Pediatric analgesics, calcium supplements, ulcer medicines such as Tagamet, Zantac, Axid, Cardiac medicines, Anti-hypertensives, Asthma medications and inhalers, antihistamines particularly Hismanal, Seldane, and Claritin, antibiotics especially cephalosporins, and Quinalones, Antifungal agents both oral and ointments (Nizoral, Diflucan, Micatin, Lotrimin).

Dental supplies - especially materials to fill cavities Band-Aids and antiseptic agents

Basic cosmetics and toiletries, creams, cleansers, soap. Shampoo and rinse

SPONSOR A SHABBAT MEAL FOR SANCTI SPIRITUS

If you prefer, cash donations will be gratefully accepted. For as little as $100.00 you can sponsor a Shabbat meal for the Sancti Spiritus community. Attendance at Shabbat services increases when there is a communal meal The difference in numbers can be accounted for by the fact that women don't need to cook and the whole family can be together for the social aspects of praying, eating, studying and socializing with their bigger family, the Jewish community. We suggest that you may wish to celebrate a family simcha by sponsoring a Shabbat meal in honor of a B’nai Mitzvah, baby naming, wedding, graduation, etc.

Please contact Hazzan Schnitzer in the BJC office if you would like to be a sponsor.

BOTTOMS UP

We have a new baby in Sancti Spiritus. Little Elisa Bernal was born back in October suffering from a blood disorder that left her anemic and at a very low birth weight. Through donations from the Hazzan’s Discretionary fund, we were able to supply her with iron fortified vitamins and formula. Elisa is still in need of assistance. For a donation of $100 you can provide much needed diapers, diaper cream, etc. for six months.

BJC CUBA MISSION 2008
February 25 – March 4, 2008

Cost $2390 PP dbl / Single Supplement $200 (Non BJC Members Additional $100) **  Plus Cuba Departure tax $25.00 (CASH ONLY)

(A Real Bargain – Comparable trips run $2900 or more)

** This price is tentative. The US government does not release 2008 prices for flights to Cuba until January, but major increases are not expected.

Includes:

$500 per person deposit due by December 22

For more information or to make your reservation Call Hazzan Schnitzer directly at (301) 469-8636  menu option 3 or ext. 102

Archive Article:

DATES CHANGED
DEC 26, 2004 -- Jan 2, 2005

Last year eighteen members of BJC had the honor and blessing of meeting, playing with and celebrating Shabbat with our friends in Sancti Spiritus, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara and Havana, Cuba. We left, promising our friends that this was not a “one shot deal” and that we would continue to stay in touch and sup-port their communities. Since last December, we have continued to send medicines, supplies and ritual articles to these brave and dedicated Jews. other BJC members have visited with our Cuban friends.

In May, for the first time in over forty years, two children became B’nai Mitzvah in Sancti Spiritus. We are part of their journey. Now it is time to return. We will go to Cuba Dec. 10-19, 2004 with stops in Havana, Cienfuegos, and Trinidad (the city closest to Sancti Spiritus with good hotels). We will celebrate Shabbat and Hannukah with the Sancti Spiritus community and at the Patronato in Havana. This year we will venture further west to the town of Camaguey and visit the 65 members of that town’s Jewish Community. Our package includes; 4 or 5 star hotels, all breakfasts, lunches, and some dinners, city tours of Old Havana, Trinidad, and Camaguey, meetings with Jewish communities, English speaking guide, local air transport to Camaguey, and a 30 passenger air-conditioned coach bus with driver.

Cost will be approximately $1850.00 per person, double occupancy plus airfare to Miami. A single occupancy is an additional $210.00.

Important Note: Because the Sancti Spiritus community is quite small (38 adults) the mission is limited to 24 people, so as not to overwhelm the community. This trip is offered on a first come, first served basis.

There are many small Jewish communities in Cuba struggling to honor and preserve their Jewish heritage. Many communities meet regularly to observe the holidays and share their lives. A few of the larger congregations are able to hold services in synagogues, but most hold services and conduct religious classes in each other’s homes. American Jewish groups support these communities by sending much needed supplies such as school books, Jewish texts, medicines, dried fruit for Tu B’Shevat and song books for Chanukah. The Jewish community of Sancti Spiritus, a small, rural community consisting of approximately 35 families, needs our support so that it’s members may continue to reinforce their Jewish identities.

  Archive Article: BJC Cuba Mission Report — December 2003

We’re Back!  BJC’s First Cuba Mission was successful beyond our wildest dreams. We went on our trip to meet the people of our adopted sister community, Sancti Spiritus. People we knew only from pictures and letters. We came away with real friendships, with names, with faces, with stories, not only of our new friends, the Barlias, the Benders, and the Levys of Sancti Spiritus, but also with families from Cienfuegos and Santa Clara as well as Havana. One of the tasks that Jews have been charged to perform throughout our history, is to rescue and redeem our brothers and sisters. Most of the pre-revolutionary Jewish population of Cuba long ago departed their beautiful island home leaving behind a tiny remnant of approximately 1700 people. The last Rabbi left in the 1970’s. Today, most Jews live in Havana and Santiago, the largest cities. Here they enjoy newly restored synagogues and schools made possible by the recent support of the Cuban government and donations from Jews in the U.S. There are however smaller Jewish communities, some as small as twenty people, in central Cuban towns like Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spiritus, and Caibarien. These people struggle to maintain their identities as Jews. With few Jewish resources other than our contributions of ritual supplies and teachers, it is contact with Jews from outside Cuba such as ourselves that provides them with hope and the comfort of knowing that they are not alone and that the Jews of America truly care about what happens to them.

Our work with the people of these towns has truly made a difference in their lives and in ours. While in Sancti Spiritus we enjoyed a Friday night Shabbat service and Hanukkah party at the home of Jose and Daisy Barlia led by their children Ivonne and Jose. They are both hoping to become B’nai Mitzvah in March. Since no one in the town reads Hebrew, they learned to read and sing the entire service phonetically. The house was strewn about with Hanukkah decorations obtained from previous visitors that the community had saved for this event. The following day, after Shabbat services and lunch at our hotel, the children and young adults put on a presentation of Israeli dances. They have no dance teacher so they learned the dances from videotape. They also made costumes for the dancers. In preparing for our visit they experienced a growth in their own knowledge and expertise in Judaica.

While in Ciefuegos, we visited the home of Rebecca Langus, president of the community. During our visit we learned that they had the words to the Hanukkah song Maoz Tsur, but did not know the tune. We taught the song to them and spent the afternoon singing that song and other Hanukkah songs.

In Santa Clara, community president David Tacher raised the funds to build a Holocaust memorial in the Jewish cemetery. I was the first Jewish clergy person to visit the cemetery since the memorial was completed and so we blessed and dedicated the monument. Now that the monument is there, more Jewish groups touring Cuba will go out of their way to visit Santa Clara and in so doing increase the amount of contact the Jews of the town have with other Jews from around the world. David confided to us that his greatest dream is to build a small synagogue for the Jews of Santa Clara and the surrounding towns. The four communities mentioned above (all within two hours of each other) have already begun to get together for holiday celebrations. The Jews of the four towns were to meet the day of our departure at the Barlia’s home for a Hanukkah party. Our donations insured that it would be a happy Hanukkah for everyone.

The people we met are true heroes. They overcame many obstacles to share with us the wonders and delights of our heritage. We gave them gifts of toys, prayer books, medicine, and supplies, but they gave us the gift of their hearts. Everyone on that trip has been affected by what we experienced in Cuba. I dare say none of us are the same. We left with hugs and kisses, smiles and tears and a vow that this would not be our last visit, only our first. We will go again to Cuba next winter. We must. Our Cuban brothers and sisters cannot be allowed to become “last years social action project.” We owe them our continued support. And the greatest expression of that support is our continued presence. What is most remarkable is how these warm and beautiful people struggle so hard to obtain what we take for granted, the ability to be together as Jews, to celebrate and pray together. In America we have beautiful synagogues, well supplied Jewish schools, abundant educational offerings for children and adults, Rabbis, Hazzans, and other well trained Jewish professionals. The people of Cuba have only their burning desire to be Jews and to grow as Jews. Their dream is to have what we have.

  Archive Article: BJC Cuba Mission Update — Spring 2003

For the last twelve months, BJC has worked to forge a relationship with our brothers and sisters in Cuba.

Last year BJC collected and sent to Cuba over 400 pounds of humanitarian aid. To date BJC members have sent in donations to sponsor 14 Shabbat meals for our sister community in Sancti Spiritus and to cover the diapering needs of six babies in the CAJM Bottoms Up program. Our religious school students have created holiday cards for Hanukkah. This past spring, BJC and the Cuba American Jewish Mission funded two Jewish students who traveled to Sancti Spiritus and other Cuban Jewish communities. There they studied with children and adults Hebrew, Torah and Jewish holidays.

This winter BJC will undertake it’s first congregational mission to Cuba. The itinerary will include stops in Havana, Cienfuegos, and of course Sancti Spiritus where we will celebrate Shabbat and Hanukah with our sister community. Details on how our members can be a part of this exciting experience will be available shortly.

  Archive Article: BJC Cuba Mission Update — December 2002

BJC's contacts with our sister community in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba continue to grow. In March Ivonne Barlia became a Bat Mitzvah. Members of the community also recently traveled to Havana for a conversion ceremony for some of the members of the community. You can see pictures on our website

In April we received this letter from Michal Landau, one of the teachers we are sending to Sancti Spiritus at the end of this month.

Dear Hazzan Sunny,

My name is Michal Landau and I received word from June that you also are a friend of the Sanci Spiritus Jewish community. I was very happy to hear of your dedication to them. I spent a week with them last December (over a year ago now), and taught the children, the youth, and the adult leadership in that community. It was a very rewarding experience. While there, I spent a lof of time in the Barlias' home with Anna, Anifre, Jose, Daisy, and of course Ivonne. Their home is one of Judaism, from the outside (a magen david as part of the fence, mezuzah on the door) to the inside (Judaica objects on the walls and shelves, books, and even the smallest one (then just learning to talk) singing Jewish songs. The Barlia's daughter is a very precocious student, and I spent hours teaching her to read Hebrew in block and cursive letters. I taught Daisy to study from the Torah with commentaries, and I taught the whole family many Jewish customs, why we do what we do, what kosher means, and some Jewish perspectives on contemporary issues. I celebrated Shabbat with the whole community, both helping them connect deeper, and appreciating their efforts to get close to Judaism. I gave long classes to the youth group on many topics. I taught Ivonne (the young girl) how to lead the younger ones in sunday school games. I tought Anifre how to lead the youth in learning activities. This community, and especially the Barlia children, as you know, are thirsty for more good teachers. It is very important that they recieve reinforcement for them to be able to continue growing.

I am very excited to be able to return to them with a dedicated group of young, enthusiastic, and knowledgable teachers. We all speak Spanish and have a good Jewish background and a knowledge of Hebrew.

I personally, am very connected to them because I see how much they want to learn about Judaism, and because of the work I did with them last time I was there. I am very excited to go back to them to help them grow even more as Jews.

I am very thankful to you for your help in this important mission to Cuba! We will all grow as people and as Jews from this experience. May we go from strength to strength! All the best to you and your wonderful community!

Yashar Koach, and a Happy and Kosher Passover,

Sincerely, Michal Landau