Study Groups & Trips
A TRIP TO THE BUKHARIAN COMMUNITY
On December 3, thirty-eight members of the Bergen County Section embarked on a trip to the Bukharian Museum in Rego Park. At the museum, three rooms on the sixth floor of a Jewish school, we would discover a clan of Jews who emigrated from Central Asia to United States and speak Hebrew, Bukhori (a dialect of the Persian language) and Russian. Their name comes from the former Emirate of Bukhara, which once had a large Jewish community.
Aron Aronov , who was a professor in Uzbekistan, created the museum. The Bukharian Jews had been cut off from the rest of the Jewish World for more than 2500 years and managed to survive as Jews. They lived mostly in the emirate of Kukhara, currently Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, while a small number lived in Russia Kazakhtan, Afganistan, and Pakistan. Aron told us about their lives as Jews and the problems they faced. The primary language of the older generation was Bukhori, while the younger generation used Russian as the primary language but do understand and speak Bukhori.
They practice Sephardic Judaism. Many of the Bukharians now live in Israel, Australia and the United States, where they have settled in Arizona, Atlanta and Rego park, New York.
We walked through the crowded rooms of the museum set up to show customs and daily living through the centuries even though they lived in isolation from the rest of the Jewish world.
Then at the King David Restaurant we had a typical Bukharian meal of salads, rolls stuffed with beef and vegetables, and a delicious rice pilaf, served with special bread and matzoh. It was quite good.
Harriet Breuer
Israeli Trip with NCJW November 2009
Women are getting the work done. The glass ceiling is crumbling because of the outstanding efforts of President of the Supreme Court of Israel, Dorit Beinisch, Knesset member Orit Zuaretz, Director, International Jewish Women's Human Rights Watch , Sharon Shenhav. Participants in many of NCJW's granting programs have become university students and productive members of Israeli society.
Carole Benson, Fran Einiger and Marcia Levy as representatives of Bergen County Section, cried and laughed along with 25 NCJW movers and shakers as we toured our sites in Israel. We met with Beduoin women, abused jewish teenage girls, at risk high school students, victims of domestic violence, university program heads and other leaders.
We look forward to sharing our experiences (and a lot more) with you at our January 19th general meeting. You will thoroughly enjoy this interesting, heart warming and informative program (look forward to some fun surprises, also).
BERGEN AWAY FROM HOME
"Here's to the Ladies Who Lunch!"
On February 10, in the depths of winter, on a glorious sunny Florida
Tuesday, we had a get-together at my home in Palm Beach Gardens. I had the
pleasure to host twelve members of NCJW Bergen County Section on this
enjoyable occasion.
It felt good for all of us to get to know some members we hadn't met before, to spend time together, and to enjoy each other's company.
Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were served on the lanai, followed by a buffet luncheon.
Judy Chesler
TRIP TO JEWISH MUSEUM
On a chilly Tuesday, December 16, 2008, our members were warmed by a wonderful day at the Jewish Museum in New York A delicious lunch was enjoyed at Joanna's on Madison, followed by two docent-led tours on the wonders of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the delightful and historic exhibit on Chagall and the Artists of the Russian Jewish Theater, 1919-1949TRIP TO CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
Our tour guides and the students gave us a full afternoon’s absorbing tour and we learned about food buying, which ingredients work best, various types of preparation, courses and curriculum, student life, career paths, and the history of the institute.
Click here for Virtual Tour of the Campus.