In the First Person: Living Judaism Returns to Russia

Two years ago, when I last traveled to Israel on a Jewish Federation mission, I had the opportunity to meet not just Israelis but a group of young Muscovites who traveled with us. Many of our conversations revolved around the distinction between being Russian and being Jewish. As Americans, we are used to the idea that we can be both American and something else: Jewish American, African American, Asian American.

And while we refer to Russian Jews, they draw a distinction: there are Russians, and there are Jews who happen to live in Russia. This is perhaps the logical consequence of pogroms or the Pale of Settlement,

being treated as an outsider even in your own home. If you see yourself as Jewish, you cannot be Russian. If you see yourself as Russian, you are not Jewish.

I wrote about my Israel travels for the Vine, and since then I have kept in touch with many of my Russian friends. Olga and Ilya came to visit me last year, and this year was my turn to continue building connections with Washington's "Jewish sister city" by visiting them. I arrived in Moscow June 1. The city is vast and vibrant, and there are many aspects of my trip that I could focus on. But for the purposes of this article, I want to share with you the heartening story of Judaism in present-day Moscow.

As a basis of comparison, I have only my 1996 trip to St. Petersburg. A different city in a different time, but I can recall only a minimal Jewish presence. Fast forward to Moscow in 2009. In my week there, I saw four synagogues, two JCCs, and a Jewish orphanage. I visited a kosher food store, ate in two kosher restaurants and learned about the religious education in the city. Jewish monuments went unprotected by the police, although all have private security. The Jewish population in Russia today, after a mass exodus to the US and Israel, is estimated at around 250,000 and growing. Instead of risking their livelihoods to immigrate to Israel, some former Refuseniks are now returning to Russia. A sea change in one generation.

Some highlights of my trip:

--Friday night services at the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue, so named because of its proximity to the memorial (which is worth seeing). The uninspired cubic building, completed in 1998, is covered with stone tile, but gives way to a brightly lit and sculpture-filled interior. The service was egalitarian, and the audience a mixture of old Russian women and young American ex-patriots. Part Russian, part Hebrew, part English, and with a volunteer American chazzan who works at the American Embassy, the music-based service made me feel at home.

--Saturday morning services at the Choral Synagogue, built at the end of the 19th century and recently, beautifully restored. Somehow this building survived the Revolution, wars, Stalin and the construction of the Metro system. Women here sit in the balcony, the Torah is read from a central reader's desk and a male choir sings near the ark. The synagogue attracts many foreign rabbis who are training a new generation of Russian-born rabbis.

--A brief Shabbat visit to a Jewish orphanage. The sight of 40 or so well-behaved Jewish children sitting around a U- shaped table, saying brachot over wine and bread will always stay with me. These kids, from all over Russia, spend their childhood in the warm embrace of this family-run orphanage; because they have extended family, they cannot be adopted, but they appear well taken care of and loved.

--Shabbat lunch, hosted by a Canadian rabbi and his British wife, both teachers in the public school system. Over a delicious meal of salads and hummos, they explained that Russia allows public religious schools. The municipality provides the building and furniture, along with a basic secular curriculum; the religious institution provides the teachers and the religious curriculum.

The most moving experience of my recent trip was my visit to the Lubavitch JCC, an extravagant building with a large atrium, beautiful new synagogue, classrooms, gymnasium, kosher meat and dairy restaurants and a host of social services. This place above all others symbolized for me the return of living Judaism to Russia.

No longer do Jews have to hide their identity there. No longer must they choose between staying in Russia or engaging in Judaism. A rich and vibrant Jewish life is available to all Jewish Muscovites, at any level of engagement that they choose. And perhaps someday soon, it will be possible to be both Jewish and Russian.

[By Ilan Scharfstein; from August-September 2009 Vine]