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NEWS
Tula Meeting of the Conference Of European Rabbis
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
From the 26th to the 29th of January, a group of Russian
rabbis gathered for a conference in Tula, a three-hour drive
south of Moscow. The Rabbis represent communities in a 5,000
square mile radius, from St. Petersburg in the west, to
Irkutzk in the east. The establishment of these communities,
under the auspices of Keroor (the orthodox umbrella
synagogue/community organization under Rabbi Pinchas
Goldschmidt), in conjunction with the Conference of European
Rabbis, is a significant historic achievement for the Jewish
people. Many of these Russian cities, with many thousands of
Jews, were decimated by the communists, bereft of shuls,
Jewish schools, mikvaos, all of which had to be
started from scratch.
Today, Tula itself boasts a kindergarten and elementary
school, a vibrant synagogue and Community Center. Many
outside bodies, such as the Canadian Foundation, the
Conference of European Rabbis, the Lauder Foundation, Ner
LeElef, and the Joint Distribution Committee have
representation there. The community has already outgrown its
current premises and has embarked upon an ambitious five-
story new center which will add a luxurious mikva to
its list of communal services.
It is difficult to describe how enthralling it is to walk
into the Tula Beis Medrash at night, and to see a group of
professional Jewish men learning gemora at a level
that would make any beis medrash proud; and yet none
of these men have experienced any learning outside of their
own isolated city.
The conference heard about Rabbi Chabi's extensive range of
shiurim in Perm, Rabbi Ginsberg's busy schedule in
Samara on the banks of the Volga River, and the newly
established yeshiva in Saratov, partially funded by the Va'ad
LeHatzolas Nidchei Yisroel.
The personal stories of these rabbis reflect a level of
selflessness that we cannot begin to appreciate. What must
Rabbi Burshtein of St. Petersburg feel like when memories of
his many arrests as a Prisoner of Zion flood back to him as
he walks the streets on his way to teach Torah? Now he is
free to teach Jews who do not know that they are Jewish, with
a paltry budget and logistical and financial challenges of
finding matzoh for Pesach, or a mezuzoh for
someone's door.
And yet, with all their difficulties, here were these rabbis,
sharing insights and planning together, learning how to
fundraise, and gaining chizuk to last them for the
coming year. All of them reported that the Jewish exodus from
Russia is no longer. Most of those going to Israel are not
Jewish, though a small immigration still continues to
Germany. These rabbis are now seeing the people they have
brought close to Torah marry and settle on their doorstep.
They have their work cut out for them.
Those attending the meeting at Tula included Rabbi A.
Masalitin, Tula; Rabbi M. Frumin, Saratov; Rabbi N. Shuster,
Saratov; Rabbi N. Vershubsky, Varonish; Rabbi M. Shteinberg,
Ekaterinburg; Rabbi Turovsky, Ekaterinburg; Rabbi G.
Ginzburg, Samara ; Rabbi Habi, Perm; Rabbi Burshtein, St.
Petersburg; Rabbi Y. Rozenzveig, Tver; Rabbi I. Livshits,
Yaroslavl; Rabbi Y. Nemzer, Irkutzk; Rabbi A. Kogan,
Vladimir; Rabbi E. Katz, Tula; Rabbi B. Tzisin, Perovo
(Moscow); Rabbi E. Krivoshey, Penza; Rabbi Dovid Weiss,
Penza; Rabbi B. Slain, Mogilev.
Also attending were Rabbi Avraham Edelstein, Rabbi Yaakov
Tipograf and Dr. Nachum Amsel of Ner LeElef and Rabbi Shlomo
Noach Mandel of the Canadian Foundation.
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