The Jewish community of Minsk, Belarus, hosted a weekend seminar for local girls and their parents. Led by Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Shneur Deitch, chief rabbi of Minsk, the event brought guests to a picturesque retreat not far from the city, where they took the opportunity to become better acquainted with Jewish traditions.

Deitch commented that the attendance of some 90 girls mirrored that of the community's Gan Israel summer camp, a significant achievement. "We arranged this retreat for them so that they would once again feel such unity and closeness with their national heritage."

For the adults, sessions with Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries from elsewhere in the country helped them improve their parenting skills and better transmit Jewish values.

The seminar was made possible through the financial assistance of the Avi Chai Foundation and the Ohr Avner Foundation headed by philanthropist Lev Leviev, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the Former Soviet Union. ...