‘SummerJew’ Gets Underway
A unique EnerJew seminar focused on planning activities and special programs during the summer in FJC’s network of summer camps across the FSU, took place in a Moscow suburb last week. 30 EnerJew activists from 15 FSU cities came together to create a pilot project -” SummerJew” that would integrate the youth movement in sleep-away and […]
Russian Synagogues Open Doors to the Public
A “Night at the Museum” event was held in many Russian cities Saturday night, where city museums and art centers held their doors open for the public throughout the night and offered special tours and activities. City synagogues also participated in the event – and with smashing success. In Petersburg, the Grand Choral synagogue complex […]
EuroStars Trip Vibrant with Jewish Spirit
EuroStars annual European journey took place in the beginning of May, and once again the trip was a great success. 700 Jewish university students came together from over 30 cities in Russia. At first, the group went to the Auschwitz concentration camp memorial in Poland for Holocaust remembrance day. After participating in the ‘March of […]
First Kosher Restaurant Launched in Chernovtsy
The first kosher restaurant in the city of Chernovtsy, Ukraine, opened its doors earlier this week, finally providing a place for those who keep kosher in the community to socialize and relax in a comfortable setting, all while having a tasty forshmak or other traditional and healthy treats. Chernovtsy is a town in west Ukraine saturated with Jewish […]
The Tale of the Ancient Parochet
FJC’s Jewish community of Irkutsk, a city in the Russian far north of Siberia, has recently relived an exhilaration like no other: the ancient parochet, the decorative cover for the alcove containing Torah scrolls in the city synagogue, that mysteriously disappeared over a hundred years ago, was returned home through courageous efforts of its rabbi […]
FSU students excel at Tanach Quiz
The annual Hidon haTanach, a worldwide teenage competition on knowledge of the scripture, took place in Israel on its Independence Day, last Thursday. 16 youngsters from 9 countries participated in the final round, one of them Atara Kelman, a student from Belarus. Prior to the final round, 70 students from Diaspora Jewry arrived to Jerusalem, […]
Side by Side: Two Russian Revolutionaries
The annual parade in Moscow commemorated this year 71 years since Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany. On a special podium in the Red Square, they sat side by side. Two revolutionaries. The Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berl Lazar, and the former president of the USSR, Mr. Michael Gorbachev. One dismantled the Soviet Union 25 […]
Victory Day Celebrated in Russia
Jewish veterans throughout Russia celebrated yesterday the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The day marks 71 years since the end of the war, and in Russia it is officially celebrated a day after the international V-day of May 8th. Fireworks, parades and celebrations take place all over the country, but for the […]
New Synagogue for Inmates
A new prayer-room was opened in a Moscow penitentiary last week, the 13th place of prayer for Jewish inmates throughout Russia in the country’s jails and penitentiary systems. The new prayer-room is shared with Muslim inmates, and the opening was attended by the chief rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berel Lazar as well as chief mufti […]
LUGANSK: Forgotten Refugees, Emissaries in Exile, Jewish Community Holds On
Lubavitch.com In the summer of 2014, Chana Gopin, a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Lugansk, Ukraine sat down to write the 150th editor’s letter of The World of the Jewish Woman, a monthly Russian-language magazine she founded 15 years earlier. “I’ve had a lot of dreams,” she wrote, “I’ve dreamed about how my family would look, and […]