A Seminar on informal Jewish Education in Almaty impressed all the participants. The optimistic and kind rabbi Meir Shlezinger from Jerusalem had given excellent lectures about the land blessed by God, Jerusalem. We listened to the grand legends and thought about the meaning of life, the belief in God, about the lives of the believers and much more. We also took great interest in the lectures of Doctor Asaf Kaniel. He spoke of how for many centuries the people waited for the coming of the anointed sovereign Messiah, whose arrival brought peace, wealth and wellbeing to the people of Israel and other countries.

I also enjoyed our lessons with Natasha Zitser. The room where the lessons were held was turned into a wonderful cafe: the light from candles penetrated the darkness, the music sounded, our waitress (Natasha) served hot and cold snacks, and drinks. The drinks were real, however the story "Family happiness" by Itshok Leybush Perets was something we could chew over.

We visited different Heseds of Almaty, came to the presentation of the book "Evacuation to Kazakhstan" and listened to Alexander Baron. He discussed the creation of a new electronic museum which will contain various archived documents from the times of evacuation.

Upon arrival at home, I organised a club for young families and conveyed to them the knowledge I obtained at the Seminar. We started talking about the meaning of the family happiness. Both adults and children participated in the discussion. I made an activity where we discussed various, sometimes comical, issues. One of the topics was "Which son has the highest status and should receive inheritance?" I was emotions in both children and their parents when we talked about the Holy Land, its people and about the golden Jerusalem. Rabbi Nahman once said, "Wherever I go, I go towards the land of Israel." During our activity we felt as if we were on the Holy Land.

The Community started its preparations for the celebration of Lag-ba-Omer. This 33rd day of Omer is the day of celebration and joy, a day on which weddings are held, people visit the countryside, make bonfires and hold archery competitions in memory of the Jews headed by Bar-Kohboy against the Romans after the destruction of the second Temple of Jerusalem. Again we held the Club for the young families, where I held more conversations and games, using techniques learnt at the Seminar. Everyone enjoyed games "What I would take on a camping trip" and "Let’s meet". As a result of non-traditional education techniques, both children and the adults became more attentive and learned more about each other.

I talked to the children about the great Torah Teacher Shimon bar Yohai, who lived with his son in hiding for 12 years. The cave they resided in was visited by his students. The students brought with them bow and arrows, and if they were found by the Roman soldiers, they pretended to be hunting. The children were surprised that someone would come up with tricks to continue learning rather than to avoid it.

Together with the children we visited the country side, made a bonfire, listened to the sound of water and to the singing of the birds. The braver ones went for a swim. I am glad to have such a great celebration as Lag Ba’Omer, which gives us a chance to listen to the stories and legends of the ancient times.

Alla Koroleva