I have recently returned from my journey with Rabbi Arnie to Eastern Europe. I saw and learned there so many things that I hope to share with our community. However, if there is one lesson that I can draw from my experience, it is the reminder of the power of each and every one of us to make a difference.

The Jewish community of my grandmother’s childhood town of Mohilev-Podolski, in the Ukraine, like that of nearly every town in that part of the world, was devastated by the Holocaust, Stalinism, years of Soviet oppression, and mass emigration. Today, a few hundred Jews remain. Yet, incredibly, there is something quite unusual: there is a minyan at the local shul absolutely every day.

In this extraordinary community, I met an extraordinary man—Abram Kaplan. Practically single-handedly, he has changed the face of the remaining Jewish presence. Most notably, Mr. Kaplan created a small but powerful Holocaust museum. It is my understanding that this is one of only two in the entire country. This three-room museum actually draws visitors from around the world, and in fact, a large study group from Germany was visiting at the same time that we did. In addition to setting up the museum, Mr. Kaplan has had seventeen monuments erected in the region, at sites of mass killings by the Nazis and their collaborators. We visited one of these sites outside of the town. Without a marker, there would be no way of knowing what had happened at that place. I believe that Mr. Kaplan also had a hand in the creation of two monuments in the center of town: One dedicated to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, the other, in the shape of two abstract hands holding up the centerpiece of the monument, depicts a non-Jewish couple holding a child with a yellow Star of David, and is dedicated to those “righteous gentiles” who helped Jews during that time. Mr. Kaplan has further taken on the colossal task of cataloging the graves in the local cemetery, and was instrumental in helping an American Jewish woman to find her grandparents’ graves after decades of neglect, so that she could set up gravestones for them. On top of all this, Mr. Kaplan has organized a “chesed” (soup kitchen) to support the elderly and indigent in the local Jewish community.

It was indeed inspiring to meet him, and to see his dedication and learn about the work he is doing. It was such a tangible reminder of how much one person can make a difference. And yet, equally moving, was seeing how much everybody makes a difference. From Sasha, our sweet guide and driver, who taught himself to speak Yiddish as a way of connecting to his roots and his people; to Mr. Pizmon, who led Shabbat services and who comes back from Ashdod, Israel, for a lengthy visit every year in order to visit his family’s graves and stay connected to his community; to Tanya, our non-Jewish interpreter, also inspired by Mr. Kaplan, who found herself moved to join us as we visited the grave of the holy Baal Shem Tov in Medzhibozh.

All this struck me in the most profound way. Not long ago, visiting this community would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible. And soon, even if the community survives, the elders who link us to the pre-Holocaust past will be gone.

I am sending a donation on behalf of our community. If you would like to contribute to this, please send me your donation (c/o Chadeish Yameinu, PO Box 3578, Santa Cruz, CA 95063), and indicate that it is for our community donation to:

Abram Kaplan and Mohilev-Podolski

It is a reminder of the power of each and every one of us to really make a difference.