Page 15 - Issue 17

in running such programming in the playground
and about 50 people enjoyed the opportunity to
make mufletot (a sort of fried crepe) and wear
traditional moroccan garb.

Two weeks ago, two Ethiopian mothers helped us
prepare a celebration of the Sigd holiday in the
same park. They brought traditional clothing,
roasted coffee in our kitchen and served it from an
Ethiopian coffee set and played Ethiopian music.
We made clay pots with neighborhood kids and
did coloring pages with pictures of Jerusalem. We
tried to find a way to invite the adults in the
playground to come together for an explanation,
but awkwardness made it difficult. Towards the
end of the evening a Russian father who was in
the playground with his daughter came over and
asked one of the mothers to explain what was
going on. Tarik explained to him the history of
Ethiopian Jewry’s loss of connection to the rest of
world Jewry, the biblical sources that the Kessim
(their spiritual leaders) based the holiday on, and
the importance of the holiday in maintaining their
community. He was very interested and thankful
for the explanation. Tarik told me that she had
been trying to bring this content to parents at her
kids school, but that people didn’t have time to
show up. In the playground, they were a captive
audience. We simply gave her the support she
needed to bring her story to the public square and
this father came up to her and said “I see you. I
want to hear what you have to tell me.”