Arayot, the New Teen Club of Kharkiv, Ukraine

November 22, 2019
Irina Kozak

Khrakiv, Ukraine

Class of 2021

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It’s time to learn more about the communities in AJT! AJT (Active Jewish Teens) is composed of communities from more than 60 cities of 7 countries.

My name is Ira and I’m from Kharkiv, Ukraine. My community is called Arayot which means “lions” in Hebrew. I've been an active member of Arayot for more than 3 years and I’m really happy to tell you how everything works here!

We have weekly activities, which are mostly lead by us, the teens. Everyone at AJT can lead their own projects that cover various topics, such as debates, leadership training, cooking, art and a lot more! 

In addition, we celebrate Shabbat every Friday. Our Shabbatot are more unique than any other I've ever experienced. Shabbat is the day our club is most united.

We organize lots of seminars and Shabbatons all year long, which all have different themes and programs so that we always have something interesting for everyone. Naturally, we like to celebrate many Jewish holidays. There are always a lot of people around for the holidays and we have a lot of fun following the traditions. 

Traveling and communicating with international communities are also some of my favorite things to do here! We often get an opportunity visit their community centers in cities across the movement. We learn more about their projects, share experiences and enjoy our time together. 

Even during your first project with Arayot, you will already feel like a part of the family. I'm sure you'll want to come back again and again. This is the place where you can learn, improve yourself, meet new friends and feel happy and surrounded by family.

I’m proud of my community and each of its members. Every teen is unique and talented. It's amazing that we can share our talents, knowledge, and skills. Our strength is in our diversity!

Irina Kozak is a BBG from Arayot Teen Club, AJT:Ukraine, and is kinda addicted to coffee.

All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.

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