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Hannan Reuben was the second person to represent Ahmedabad Jewish community in the Buncher Program. On his return, a need was felt to have an group under the flagship of which various activities could be carried out. Initially it was planned to have a formal group with different committee. However, ultimately a group with no formal structure came into being and was coined the name "Shelanu Jewish Circle" a circle of volunteers who were willing to devote their time and efforts for Jewish education and community activities. The term Shelanu in Hebrew means "Our" indicating that this group is by and for the people. In 1994, Noel Benjamin attended the Buncher Program with his project 'Informal Jewish Education for children'. By the time both Ezra and Hannan migrated to Israel and the leadership and responsibilities of the circle were handled by Noel Benjamin, who has been carrying out activities since then, through the circle with the help of volunteers from the community. Activities of the 'Shelanu Jewish Circle' Informal Jewish Education: Shelanu Jewish Circle has been carrying out various activities for imparting Jewish Education in an informal manner. Jewish education is imparted through a variety of ways viz. Sunday classes are organized regularly by Noel Benjamin wherein a variety of topics are studied and learnt together. These include Hebrew, Prayers and their replies, songs, arts and crafts etc. Hebrew Learning: Focus of the sunday class is to teach the Holy tongue to the children and to youths and adults as well. The participants are first taught the alphabets, then simple sentences and finally to read from the Siddur. Mr. Johnny Pingle, who is providing Honorary services to the synagogue as Chazzan also conducts classes for children to read prayers, spoken Hebrew is also taught in the class. Torah Discussions: The youth and adults take up Torah portions and discuss it. Betty Shore from Canada initiated the project of learning Torah through Quiz. Hebrew Songs: The participants also learn Hebrew songs. Special festival songs are also prepared. These songs are sung on festivals and other festive occasions. Workshops: Special workshops are arranged before festivals with an object to teach the participants about the festival and to make preparations for its celebrations. Children are taught in a play way method using stories, pictures, quiz and puzzles. Among the elders, different aspects of the festival, history, customs, stories, songs etc. are distributed and on the predetermined date participants explain their subject to a larger group. In these workshops preparation for festivals are made like preparing bugles and masks for Purim, Matzoth, Charoset, grape juice etc. for Pesach. Children are taught songs and children skit is prepared which they perform on the festival day. Informal Discussions: Informal discussions are held on various Jewish subjects. The participants of the class have also become members of the "Rambam" society started by AJDC. Printed materials is received, individually studied and discussed in group and the queries are put forward to the Rambam society for clarifications. Festive Celebrations: The Shelanu Jewish Circle organizes celebrations of festivals at community level. Festivals like Purim, Pesach, Shavouth, Succoth, Chanukkah, Tu B' shvat etc. are celebrated as a community. These festivals are celebrated in the synagogue with prayers, festive songs in Hebrew, competitions etc. Seminars: Seminars have been organized in past by Shelanu. The last seminar organized by Shelanu was on the subject "Elders are responsible for the lack of Jewish fervor in youth." There was healthy discussions by the two groups viz. youth and elders, and a general poll was conducted. Outings: Picnics are also organized by Shelanu for community members. Such outings help the members come closer and improves interaction. There are activities like singing, dancing, competitions and discussions. Library: Magen Abraham Synagogue library is look after by the Shelanu. There are more than 500 books. These books have been presented to the library by AJDC, the United Jewish Federation of Metrowest, The Germantown Jewish Center. International Interaction: Individuals and families from outside India who were stationed in Ahmedabad for their own academic or professional purposes have also conducted classes. Some of them are: 1. Daphna and Zvi Musnikov from Kibbutz Ketura, Israel 2. Moti Mishan from Israel 3. Betty Shore from Canada, now migrated to Israel 4. Risa and Howard Spodek from Philadelphia, USA 5. Jonathan Crane from New York, USA 6. Prof. Joan Roland, Pace University, USA Newsletter: Newsletter: Shelanu comes out with a newsletter once every quarter. Through this newsletter information about the forthcoming festivals, events and programs is provided. The newsletter is sent to all the community members free of charge. It obtains sponsorship for the newsletter from community members. "Motive of Shelanu": With its activities, Shelanu has made the synagogue a focal point. People get an opportunity to meet and get closer. People are made familiar to prayers and Jewish customs. With support from the Managing Committee of the synagogue, The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, volunteers and the community at large, Shelanu has been successful in carrying out these wide range of activities.
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When the American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee introduced the Buncher Graduate Program in
India with the objective of developing leaders in the Jewish community in the
Diaspora, Ezra Samuel was the first person to attend the program in Israel.
After completion of his training in Israel, he returned and started working on
his project. He conducted classes for children every Sunday and organized
celebrations of holidays on community level, with the help of other volunteers.