‘Neighbourly’ young people act on Jewish values

Itai Bolyasni, right, packs food parcels with Or Ben Shimon of Israel and fellow Montrealer Tova Stolovitsky.

This summer, a group of about 40 young people in Montreal between the ages of 17 and 26 has been spending their days trying to make the lives of people they do not know a little better.

They call themselves Project Neighbour, and over seven weeks they are reaching out to children, the elderly and other vulnerable residents of Côte des Neiges, Snowdon and Notre Dame de Grâce districts to see how they can help.

The project was initiated by the Jewish Russian Community Centre (JRCC), led by Rabbi Israel and Anna Sirota, and is funded by a “Shaping Our Future” grant from Federation CJA and a Canada Summer Jobs grant from the federal government.

The indefatigable couple has been ministering to the spiritual and practical needs of Russian Jews in Montreal since 1973, when they immigrated from the Soviet Union.

The project participants, however, are mostly from outside that community, and their good deeds are benefiting Jewish and non-Jewish people alike.

Project Neighbour actually began in May and the Sirotas hope it will continue in some form after the funding runs out at the end of August.

“This is a way for young people to put Jewish values into action,” said Mrs. Sirota. “We believe it is important to help our own community, but also others.”

The young people came up with their own ideas about what to do, and work in teams. On a recent Thursday morning at the JRCC’s Schottenstein Chabad Community Centre on Bourret Avenue, Project Neighbour participants were busy packing about 100 shopping bags of food that they would deliver to needy and isolated elderly people in the area.

As he put a frozen chicken, eggs and fruit into a package, Itai Bolyasni admitted he applied to the project at first because he was looking for a summer job. But the experience has opened his eyes to the struggles many people face daily.

“It feels good knowing you can make a difference,” said Bolysani, who immigrated with his family from Israel five years ago and lives in Pierrefonds.

He just graduated from École Secondaire Dorval-Jean XXIII, a French-language public school, and is entering Dawson College.

He is on the team that has been making meals at Ronald McDonald. “I’m learning to cook – with some help,” he said.

The project participants were joined by some 20 Israeli and Montreal teens in the food parcel preparation. The visitors were from the Negev area of Be’er Sheva/Bnei Shimon, with which the Montreal Jewish community has been linked under a longstanding federation initiative.

They were selected by Leadership Together, a federation program that for the past 12 years has brought senior high school students to Montreal to learn about Jewish life here and to engage in community service. The youngsters spend three weeks at Camp B’nai Brith in the Laurentians.

Project Neighbour is focusing on hospitalized children and their families and seniors living in residences or their own homes, but with mobility issues. They welcome the friendly visits, the meals and the entertainment.

Elsewhere, some participants lead environmental and art activities at day camps.

Polina Belkina, the federation-based director of the project, said the young people are encouraged to work independently, to design and implement every aspect of their projects.

These include cooking and serving meals to families staying at Manoir Ronald McDonald while their children are hospitalized in Montreal; performing klezmer concerts in nursing homes and hospitals; and assisting the JRCC in its ongoing aid to needy community members.

The JRCC is located in the former Anshei Ozeroff Congregation, which merged with Adath Israel Poalei Zedek synagogue in Hampstead in 2003, after its dwindling membership could no longer afford to maintain its own building.

In 2012, after wandering from place to place over four decades, including initially sharing space at Anshei Ozeroff, the JRCC was able to buy the building. That was thanks to a major gift from the Sirotas’ son-in-law, David Schottenstein, a successful Columbus, Ohio-based entrepreneur married to their daughter Eda.

With additional donations in material and labour, the JRCC has been transformed from a ramshackle shul and later a makeshift school.

It has been completely renovated into an airy, modern space with large ornamental windows and chandeliers – in other words, a pleasant place for the young people to hang out.

The Sirotas want it that way, of course. They provide guest speakers and organize discussions on, among other topics, the compatibility of social action and Judaism.

It’s not all work. The youngsters enjoy social and cultural activities once of twice a week, such as barbecues, movie nights, challah baking and pizza making.