Behind The Iron Curtain | Inside the EPIC Struggle of Jews in the Former Soviet Union

From a young age, my mother would tell me about the Lubavitcher Rebbe – she didn’t call him the Lubavitcher Rebbe – she simply said, “There’s a Rebbe, who cares for every Jew in the world.” To me, it sounded like a fairytale. I receive news from there, and sometimes photographs. They are facing a tremendous test. The Talmud relates about the heroes Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya that had they been tortured, they may not have withstood the test. Jews have been suffering in the Soviet Union for sixty years, for over sixty years; they’re in a dire situation in which there hasn’t been a calm moment in Jewish life. My husband used to go to Europe to inspect companies for kosher certification. He sent in a letter to the Rebbe – should he go to Russia? When the Rebbe said, “Go to Russia,” I said, “I’m going too.” He sent all sorts of emissaries, even <i>yeshiva</i> students and women. The first contact I had with the Rebbe through the people that he sent was when Rabbi Berel Levy, of blessed memory, came to Russia. My father and my mother went to Russia many times, I even went along with them one time. He did a lot of missions for the Rebbe The first time, we spent about ten days in Russia – maybe even more. The most nerve-racking days of my life. The Intourist travel company in Russia, took us around, sightseeing, so to speak. Every single move that you made, you didn’t go by yourself. There was always a car waiting for you. If there was no car waiting for you, you could be sure that there were people following you. We met some very, very interesting people. All these people were what they called “refuseniks.” Let us say <i>l’chaim</i> with some of the Rebbe’s vodka, which he sent especially… Let us all wish life and blessing to all those Jews, who for the time being, find themselves behind the Iron Curtain, as it is called. May they be strong in their Judaism, which is their life and the length of their days, and be steadfast in their observance. This itself will lighten the decrees in the remaining moments until they are free, may it be very soon. My father would go to places, he would encourage them to set up classes, encourage them to learn. Chanukah is a festival of miracles. God delivered the strong into the hands of the weak; the many into the hands of the few. I guess you would say he was a traveling Rabbi, a traveling mentor — a traveling educator. I was in this house where we studied together from the Rebbe’s teachings We had almost twenty people here. If they needed a Jewish wedding, he would make sure they had a Jewish wedding; that people were set up to observe family purity. If there was no <i>mikvah</i> or if there was a problem with the <i>mikvah</i>, he would see to it to set up the <i>mikvah</i>, to fund the <i>mikvah</i>. In Almaty, Yosef Neymotin had built a <i>mikvah</i> in his basement. In those years, that was a very, very serious thing to do. My father arranged a <i>mikvah </i>to be built in our home. It was the only <i>mikvah </i>in three Soviet republics. This is one of the reasons our family stayed in the Soviet Union so long, because the Rebbe didn’t want us to leave because of the <i>mikvah.</i> This is the <i>mikvah</i> in Yosef Neymotin’s house. We were really frightened, because our house was under close watch. Every day requires self-sacrifice, not only for those prohibitions which are cardinal sins, but in every single aspect. Berel Levy brought a bottle of vodka from the Rebbe. To remain a Torah observant Jew is only possible by living with self-sacrifice twenty-four hours a day. There was no kosher meat in the city. A young man arrived from Moscow, and told me, “The Rebbe said to give you a message: ‘Take upon yourself kosher slaughter.’” I found an old Chasid to teach me, to watch and inspect my work, but I wasn’t certified. Berel Levy came, he tested me, and gave me certification. That’s when I saw the Rebbe at work. Two generations have already grown up without exposure to Judaism; raised in a city where Judaism was nowhere to be found. We are in the home of a woman who they say is very righteous. She allows circumcisions to be performed in her home every week. This young is about to be circumcised, and another was circumcised earlier. And yet, the third generation, as soon as they have the opportunity to be circumcised – they take it. Not only do they agree, but they do so happily and joyfully. There are even numerous cases where they refuse anesthetic because they wish to fully experience this tremendous act. I was in Russia as part of a Knesset delegation. I came on the chasidic holiday of Yud Tes Kislev, and it was twenty degrees below zero, with terrible snow. I wanted to go for a <i>farbrengen; </i>I knew that Berel Levy was there. The room was packed, and Berel took videos there. The people gathered here are among those with connections to Jewish observance. We’ll soon hear from them. We took these videos to the Rebbe. Every time we had an audience after we came from Russia, we would come and play the entire tapes. We came in and we put up the screen. The movie machine was put on the Rebbe’s desk… Shalom, Rebbe, from the refuseniks of Leningrad. It’s not easy being a refusenik in Leningrad, or in Russia in general. Nevertheless, we are alive and remain Jews. The biggest thing for these people was to be able to speak to the Rebbe, to ask for a blessing. You know what that meant to them? You could see it on their faces. Ira, daughter of Chaya. I would like to ask the Rebbe for a blessing for our children. May they be happy, and be the way that the Rebbe would like them to be. Rebbe, your words have turned my life around. They were told to me by your students, and I’m ready to listen further. Rebbe, thank you for the attention you give us, which we need very much. Moshe, son of Golda. Rebbe thank you for your blessing; I got out of having to take exams on Shabbos and holidays. Perel, daughter of Miriam. Miriam, daughter of Chana. Berel showed the Rebbe the videos and the Rebbe wrote all kinds of notes. He kept telling him to stop it to discuss something – more information about a certain person – and my husband gave him whatever information he could, I have a number of questions and problems that no person in the world besides for you can help me with. So, I’m beseeching you, give me a blessing that my family should be liberated from here. It’s very dangerous for me. My wife would like a blessing to leave; it’s too dangerous for our children. I ask for a blessing that my son, Moshe, remain a Jew. He cried more than once when he was seeing those films. The Rebbe used to smile always, so I’d never seen the Rebbe crying. But tears were streaming from his eyes. Rebbe, I want us to leave here, so we won’t have to suffer. Life here is just terrible. I’d like to request that God have mercy on our children, because this is no place for Jewish children to be raised. The Rebbe said that anybody who could be of positive influence in Russia has to stay, they cannot leave. Rabbi Berel brought a message that I should remain here, that I need to stay. That means that I’ll never have an audience with the Rebbe. So I ask you to send me a <i>nigun</i>, a melody, so that when I sing it, I will feel like I am having an audience with the Rebbe. Then, if I have a question that I cannot ask you, I will think of the melody and I will know the right thing to do when I hear it. “Those lost in the land of Assyria and exiled in the land of Egypt shall come.” All the neglected Jews, especially those who are trapped behind the Iron Curtain. Through no fault of their own, they don’t have the fortune of truly being able to study Torah and fulfill the commandments, amidst happiness and joy. I ask for a blessing avoid any mishaps in my holy work; in kosher slaughter and circumcision. May God help me understand the Rebbe’s teachings on the weekly Torah portion. Rebbe, this is Getzel, son of Baila, the brother of Meir Gershon, one of the first students in Lubavitch, and Gedalia of Potchop; Gershon of Potchop. I ask that you beseech God for “the return of our captives” and “the ingathering of the exiles,” very soon, They would ask questions of the Rebbe about what to do: My father would come back, ask his questions to the Rebbe, the Rebbe would give an answer …Our people there are facing particularly harsh persecution now. May God remove the many obstacles and hardships, especially for Getzel, son of Baila… He’d have to figure out a way to get the answers to the people, have phone calls back and forth. and codes they used to talk in have phone calls back and forth. and codes they used to talk in AT&T international… 242-4353, Moscow. One moment… Hello…? Hello, Getzel? How are you? Thank God… All is well? Thank God – I can get to “work” twice a day. “Grandfather” would like to know why Kalman Melech is not taking his medicine… They must have known the places we went to, because I’m sure they followed us. The biggest wonder was that they never ever asked my father for his films or his movie camera. I mean, we’re carrying a movie camera and we were carrying around a regular camera. This was evidence if they were looking for it. But they never ever asked my father for the films.