Some have you may have already seen this posted in another form, but I was so impressed with the Russian Jewish community that I wanted to share it here as well:
As Hillel students in Moscow prepared to light the Channukah candles in Moscow, they learned that different kind of flames burned more than 1,500 miles away. And they knew that they had to do something about it. Twenty years ago, Jews from Israel and North America came to the aid of Jews in the Former Soviet Union.
Today, Jewish students in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Khabarovsk are coming to the aid of victims of the fires in northern Israel. When the students learned how serious the fires were in northern Israel, they decided to undertake a fundraising effort to help the victims. They wanted to help children, as it is traditional to give children gifts during Channukah. They learned that an officer in the ranks of the firefighters with four children lost his life in the blaze, and the students decided they wanted to help his children and his widow.
Through the miracle of modern technology, the call to action spread almost quickly as the flames in Israel. On Facebook, vKontakte (the Russian Facebook), and through email, the Moscow community learned of the campaign. Hillel activists placed fliers all over the city and there were tzedakah boxes at every event including Hillel’s special Channukah Shabbat, Hillel’s Mir Project’s Channukah party (Hillel’s Big Brother/Big Sister program for kids with special needs run in conjunction with JDC), and at JDC’s Ruach Quest Channukah Party. As of December 7th, Hillel had raised over 15,000 rubles through its tzedakah boxes, with more money transferred to a special bank account set up for the fund. The campaign is not limited to Moscow. Hillel students reached out to their colleagues in St. Petersburg and Khabarovsk (Siberia), who joined in the effort and are also raising funds through various events. The campaign runs through the 18th of December and all funds raised will go to help the family of the fallen officer.
Other Jewish organizations in Russia are also collecting funds for victims of the fire.
