Rebbitzins and Jewish women leaders in Russia’s smaller and remote cities gathered for a unique convention in the city of Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Muslim Republic of Tatarstan, hosted by the local Cheif Rabbi and his wife there, Rabbi Yitzchak and Chani Gorelik.

The Spiritual Jewish leaders in Russia’s smaller cities face unique challenges the likes of which their colleagues living in larger cities like Moscow or Petersburg don’t usually need to deal with. It was with this in mind that a special conference was arranged last week for these leaders.

The conference began with blessings by the Mayor of Kazan, who spoke about the important role they play in the revival of Jewish life while peppering his talk with words in Yiddish and Hebrew.

The participants and their daughters were then treated to a tour of Jewish life in Kazan which includes a variety of projects and institutions for all ages and stages. It was inspiring and uplifting to see the work of their fellow leaders for the Jews of Kazan and no doubt sparked new ideas to bring back home to their cities.

The four-day conference program was packed with classes and workshops for the dozens of participants, during which time there was also a parallel program for the young girls who arrived together with their mothers.

When the four days of the convention were over, the leaders returned to their respective cities with renewed energy and enthusiasm to continue being a beacon of light in their corner of Russia.