Nine congregants of Pikesville’s Beth Tfiloh Synagogue, including Rabbi Chai Posner, recently traveled to the Eastern European country of Moldova to provide comfort and support to refugees from war-torn Ukraine. Moldova maintains a border with the southwestern portion of Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in late February.
The five-day mission was organized by Pikesville resident and Beth Tfiloh congregant Ari Mittleman and conducted through IsraAID, an Israel-based, non-governmental international humanitarian aid group. The mission included a stop in the Moldovan village of Palanca along the Ukrainian border, as well as volunteering in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau at IsraAID-operated shelters.
“We went to Moldova with the intention of bearing witness to the curse that an evil man has brought upon millions of people,” Rabbi Posner said in a May 14th sermon to the congregation, alluding to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We thought we’d bring a message of positivity and light to this region. And I believe we did. But perhaps more so, we saw that even in the face of so much curse, even in a time of so much darkness, one can choose to serve as a blessing, one can choose to be a source of light. …
“It was a whirlwind of a trip that felt more like five weeks than five days,” he said. “But it was an extremely powerful experience for all of us who went.”
Among the places visited by the Beth Tfiloh delegation was Green Gate, an integration center for Moldovan and refugee children, and Sunflower Center, which helps mothers and children fleeing Ukraine. The Sunflower Center was founded by former Bethesda resident Meredith Yurko Wiedemer, who gave a tour of the facility to the visitors from Beth Tfiloh.
A refugee meets Rabbi Posner, Eve Steinberg and Cherie Brownstein.(Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
Rabbi Chai Posner (far left) and Beth Tfiloh delegation members meet with Ukrainian refugees at Sunflower Center, a Moldova center that helps Ukrainian refugees. (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
A supply truck at the border where Ukrainian refugees enter Moldova. (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
An accordion player entertains the Beth Tfiloh delegation and others in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau. (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
A young refugee at the Sunflower Center (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
Irena Grecova works at Green Gate (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
Refugee children at play at the Sunflower Center (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
Viktoria, a Ukrainian refugee, talks to the Beth Tfiloh delegation about coming to Moldova with herbrother. Her parents stayed behind in Ukraine because he father was having cancer treatments. She currently works at a shelter for refugees. (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
The IsraAid tent at the border (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
A Ukrainian refugee at the Sunflower Center (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
The border area of Moldova and Ukraine (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
Beth Tfiloh delegates Eve Steinberg andRichard Alter at Green Gate (Photo by Sara Leibowitz) 
Refugee children in an art class at the Sunflower Center (Photo by Sara Leibowitz 
An IsraAid worker speaks to the Beth Tfiloh delegation. (Photo by Sara Leibowitz)
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