1. Reflection: JDC Entwine Multi-Week Fellow in Argentina
By Allie Strick
December 2015
In the middle of rural Argentina exists a town by the name of Colonia Avigdor. Here horses replace cars,
farms replace grocery stores,and dirt roads replace pavement. However, in this same town there is a synagogue.
Within the synagogue there is a Torah wrapped in an embroidered blanket announcing the birth of a German baby
boy born in the late 19th century- a testament to the existence and preservation of Jewish culture in a most
unexpected place. I traveled to Colonia Avigdor with a group of 9 women and the Rabbi from the NCI Emmanuele
Synagogue in Buenos Aires. As the Rabbi lifted up the Torah for us all to see,the woman I was with formed a circle
and with tremendous enthusiasmand energy, broke out in a spontaneous singing of the Shehecheyanu.As the
women pulled me into their circle and I joined in song (the tune being equal to the one used in my synagogue in
New York), I lost perspective of where I was. Suddenly I wasn't an American in a huddle of Argentinians in a
foreign land, but rather I was a Jewish woman in a familiar Jewish community. As we all rejoiced in Hebrew songs,
an outsiderwould have had no way to distinguish who of us had been raised in this country and who had come from
abroad.
Colonia Avigdorwas established as the first German Jewish colony in Argentina and provided refuge for
Jews fleeing Germany. They came to this colony, offering little more than fertile land and their tenacity to survive,
optimism for a better future, and their Torah. Today the Jewish population of Avigdorhas almost entirely
disappeared,but the Jewish community has not ceased to remember nor appreciate, the hospitality of this land and
the original habitants living there prior to the arrival of the Jewish immigrants. Colonia Avigdor lacks many of the
comforts as well as seemingly basic necessities of modern life, but what it doesn't lack is the support and care of the
Argentinean Jewish community. The Fundacion Judaica or Tzedeka foundation, an organization I had the great
opportunity to work with as a JDC Multi-Week fellow, provides incredible amounts of assistance to this small town.
On this trip we met with a man by the name of Ruben who represents the Fundacion Judacia in Avigdor. Not only
does Ruben serve as the mayor of the town but he also owns the main store, is the teacher of the school,and
personally picks up every child in the town each morning and drives them to school.Additionally the Fundacion
ensures that the farm land is cared for properly, there is clean drinking water, and that all school children are able to
receive free meals. The word Impressive doesn't even begin to describe the incredible work the Fundacion Judaica
provides within this small town.
The warmth and gratitude we were showered with upon arrival was unforgettable and I feel so honored to
have been a part of an organization which makes such a positive difference in the world. The maintaining of this
colonial town also serves to preserve the legacy of all the families who immigrated to Argentina and their journeys
to do so. The women I traveled with to Avigdor were all first or second generation Argentineans,who had either
fled Germany themselves or were the children of refuges who had originally arrived in colonial towns similar to
Avigdor before ending up in Buenos Aires. Avigdor is a reminder of the Jewish ability to survive, remain strong and
stay unified throughout any circumstance.
Having had the opportunity to celebrate my Judaism with this group of women in this special place, which
held such meaning to them as Jewish immigrants, was truly the highlight of my stay here in Argentina. As we sang
the Shehecheyanu togetherI really became aware of how we are really one Jewish world, inner-connected.