|
19. The writer met with Rabbi
Pinchas Goldschmidt, Chief Rabbi of Moscow, twice. On the
first occasion, she was a member of the joint National Conference
on Soviet Jewry/American Jewish Committee delegation. In reviewing
significant events of the current year for the delegation, Rabbi
Goldschmidt singled out the establishment of the Moscow
Jewish Community (MERO), noting that it brings together
observant and secular Jews. Of the nine vice presidents, he said,
four are Sephardi individuals from the Caucasus Mountain area,
reflecting the influx of Jews from this region into Moscow. Two
other significant developments in 1999, continued Rabbi Goldschmidt,
are the opening of a Sephardi synagogue
in the Arkhipova street complex (which also hosts the Moscow Choral
Synagogue) and the opening of a new
Jewish cemetery.
Responding to a question about the development of Jewish
identity in contemporary Russia, Rabbi Goldschmidt reminded
the group that the only Jewish identity that the Soviet Union
had permitted was a cultural identity that was expressed through
the Yiddish language. As the Soviet Union collapsed, it was only
natural that a new post-Soviet Jewish identity also would be cultural
in character.62
However, eleven years later [after the emergence of glasnost],
Jewish identity is expanding into Jewish religious identity, he
said. Rabbi Goldschmidt compared the situation in Jewish life
to that in Russian Orthodox Christianity; Russian Orthodox spirituality
now is filling a vacuum created by the demise of Communist ideology
as a motivating force. Post-Soviet Jews, said Rabbi Goldschmidt,
now understand that their Jewish identity requires some connection
with Jewish history, such as old Jewish buildings; therefore,
he continued, Jewish life is being rebuilt in old synagogues.
The incidence of intermarriage
has been very high, he continued. In fact, only about 30 percent
of all olim (immigrants
in Israel) from Moscow are halachically Jewish. Intermarriage
is the result of many factors, said Rabbi Goldschmidt. First,
few places exist in which Jews are able to meet other Jews. He
hopes that the establishment of seven Jewish day schools in Moscow
and a number of Jewish summer camps will help to mitigate this
factor. Second, anti-Jewish bigotry was such that many Jews felt
compelled to conceal their Jewish identity. Third, most Jews are
ignorant of their own tradition and history; they do not understand
that Judaism is worth preserving. Only Jewish education can change
this situation. Fourth, through the mid-1990s, many Jews in the
“elite” sectors of Soviet and post-Soviet society
converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity in order to fit in
with non-Jewish peers. Rabbi Goldschmidt believes that the involvement
of high-profile Jews in the Russian Jewish Congress has shown
Jews that they can retain status while still identifying as Jews
in a public manner. These problems are severe. However, he thinks
that within five years the Jewish community of Moscow will be
a real community and will be dealing with the “regular”
problems faced by most Jewish communities. It is the responsibility
of REK and MERO, he said, to strengthen all Jewish organizations
so that these issues can be addressed.
An earlier consensus posited that all Jews should go to Israel,
continued Rabbi Goldschmidt. The new
consensus (among many Israeli officials as well as Russian
Jews) is that many Jews will remain in Russia; therefore, Jews
in Russia should develop the necessary organizations to serve
their community. The development of Jewish identity will encourage
aliyah. Aliyah, said Rabbi Goldschmidt, is not detrimental to
Jewish life in Russia. The Jewish Agency for Israel [which promotes
aliyah] has helped to establish a Jewish education framework in
the post-Soviet states. A Jewish renaissance is occurring in Moscow.
Local Jews will decide where they want to live, he observed; his
own role and the role of others in leadership positions is to
support them in their choice.
Many Jews, he said, have reasons
to remain in Moscow. Many intellectuals need the Russian
language to continue their work. Some individuals are enjoying
greater economic success in Moscow than they could hope to achieve
in another country. Many have elderly parents in Moscow who are
too fragile to move to a different culture. The high level of
intermarriage also means that many Jews have strong family ties
to non-Jews who do not wish to leave Russia.
Shifting to relations within the
Jewish population, Rabbi Goldschmidt said that relations
between “modern” (Reform) Jews and “traditional”
(Orthodox) Jews in Moscow are generally good. It is counterproductive,
continued Rabbi Goldschmidt, for traditional Jews to fight modern
Jews. They are all starting in the same place. All Jews have lost
all Jewish memory after more than 70 years of communism; 90 percent
of all Jews in Russia would fail to recognize Kol
Nidrei.63
|
Responding to a question about antisemitism,
Rabbi Goldschmidt said that two of the four announced candidates
for the office of President of Russia are Jews. The high public
profiles of these individuals, Yevgeny
Primakov and Grigory Yavlinsky,
creates a problem. Because of prejudice against them, Jews (and
also Armenians) are more energetic than many Russians, said Rabbi
Goldschmidt. Therefore, they are high achievers and disproportionately
represented among the elites. Many Russians resent the prominence
of Jews. Many ambitious Jews converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity
in the past; however, fewer conversions have occurred since 1993
or 1994. Rabbi Goldschmidt again credited the participation of
high profile Jews in the Russian Jewish Congress as encouraging
other Jews to accept communal responsibility.
In a separate individual discussion
one week after the meeting with the mixed National Conference
on Soviet Jewry and American Jewish Committee delegation, Rabbi
Goldschmidt expanded on some of his previous statements. As an
example of the growth in Jewish religious
identity, he said that many Jews now are aware of the Jewish
calendar. Between 4,000 and 5,000 Jews in Moscow attended Rosh
Hashana services in 1999, and other Jews observed Rosh Hashana
informally in home celebrations. Although few observe Yom Kippur
in the traditional manner, many Moscow Jews now avoid socializing
at that time. Many Jews light menorahs, which are distributed
by several different organizations, at Chanukah, said Rabbi Goldschmidt.
About 25 public seders were held in Moscow last Pesach, each attended
by approximately 100 people. Additionally, he continued, it is
likely that between 5,000 and 7,000 Moscow Jews participated in
home seders, many of them organized by the 2,000 youngsters in
Moscow Jewish day schools.
Rabbi Goldschmidt said that 15 synagogues
exist in Moscow, five of them officially registered as such and
three of them functioning as components of yeshivot. The others
are neighborhood shteibels or gatherings at various Jewish institutions,
such as the regular minyans at several Jewish day schools.64
He thinks that Moscow can support about 60 synagogues or “points
of prayer.” Rabbi Goldschmidt noted that synagogues create
jobs in the Jewish community and may lead to the establishment
of onsite welfare establishments (such as soup kitchens), various
educational and cultural programs, or other community ventures.
Participation in Jewish worship is encouraged by the 1999 publication
and widespread distribution of a siddur
(prayer book) in Russian and Hebrew, including Hebrew transliterated
into Russian. Called Shma Israel,
the siddur was developed by the Shamir
outreach organization in Israel and sponsored by the Congress
of Jewish Religious Communities and Societies in Russia (Конгресса
Еврейских
Религиозных
Общин и Организаций
России, often referred
to by its Russian initials, KEROOR).65
Rabbi Goldschmidt escorted the writer on a visit to the new Sephardi
synagogue built on the grounds of the Moscow Choral Synagogue.
A small structure, the ground floor includes a synagogue area
with wooden pews made in Belarus. A storage compartment with lock
and key is located on the back of each seat for the siddur and
other belongings of people in the next row. In response to the
writer’s observation that the synagogue did not include
a women’s balcony, Rabbi Goldschmidt pointed out that some
space existed in the back of the sanctuary for additional chairs;
however, few women from Caucasus Mountain communities attend synagogue.
The second floor includes a kitchen and several small meeting
rooms, including a youth activity room.
Rabbi Goldschmidt uses the terms “Sephardi” and “Caucasus”
interchangeably to refer to Jews from
the Caucasus Mountain area. Most Moscow Jews from this
region associated with Rabbi Goldschmidt and the new synagogue
are Tat or Mountain Jews and are from Daghestan or Azerbaidjan.
Rabbi Goldschmidt said that many migrated to Moscow during the
glasnost period or after
the collapse of the Soviet Union and became importers of various
goods. However, the banking crisis of August 1998 and subsequent
economic difficulties have sharply restricted the market for imports.
Unable to earn a satisfactory income under such circumstances,
many Caucasus Mountain Jews have left for Israel during the past
year. Those who remain are subject to police checks and other
forms of harassment because of their physical resemblance to Chechens.66
Jewish families from the Caucasus Mountain area are more traditional,
less subject to intermarriage, and more likely to be intact than
are Ashkenazi families, said Rabbi Goldschmidt.
Rabbi Goldschmidt repeated that only about 30 percent of all
olim (immigrants in Israel)
from Moscow are halakhically Jewish. This large influx of non-Jews
is creating a major problem in Israel. Earlier olim from the Soviet
Union and its successor states, many of whom made aliyah for Zionist
reasons, are among those who are most concerned.
Rabbi Goldschmidt confirmed that synagogues and other organizations
associated with Chabad have
not joined the Russian Jewish Congress. (However, Rabbi
Berel Lazar, the chief representative of Chabad in Russia,
is a member of the REK Presidium and sits on several REK committees,
and various Chabad organizations accept REK subsidies.) Chabad
is the dominant Jewish religious force in Ukraine, said Rabbi
Goldschmidt, but it does not control Russia. Independent non-Chabad
rabbis serve in 11 different Russian cities, including Moscow.
In some of these cities, they “compete” with Chabad,
but Rabbi Goldschmidt views such competition as “benevolent.”
He noted that Chabad has agreed to cease trying to delegitimize
non-Chabad rabbis, a major positive development. However, battles
may ensue over the recovery of former synagogues. Rabbi Goldschmidt
agrees with the Chabad premise that Chabad has the right to reclaim
former Chabad synagogues, but some others may challenge Chabad
over repossession of such property.
Referring to the Russian Jewish Congress
(REK) and to the Moscow Jewish
Community (MERO), Rabbi Goldschmidt said that the latter
is the grandchild of the former. (He did not mention the intermediate
generation, the Moscow Jewish Congress,
which was dissolved when its president was arrested and sentenced
to prison for financial malfeasance.) Although the economic crisis
has had an impact on contributions to these organizations, the
severity of the impact is less than had been feared. Banks and
import businesses have lost money, but export businesses have
prospered now that the ruble has lost much of its previously inflated
value. The number of major donors has increased, said Rabbi Goldschmidt,
and MERO is attracting both major and mid-level gifts. However,
the lack of a strong middle class is a deterrent to mid-level
giving. Contributions to MERO of more than $100,000 usually are
designated for special purposes, rather than for general support.
|

62.
It is likely that Rabbi Goldschmidt was referring to the Jewish
history clubs, musical groups, newspapers, and similar institutions
that emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
63. Rabbi
Goldschmidt was referring to the well-known Ashkenazi musical rendition
of Kol Nidrei (All Vows), a ritual declaration on Yom Kippur (Day
of Atonement) in which worshippers annul all vows that were made
unwittingly or rashly during the year.
64. Rabbi
Goldschmidt explicitly included two Progressive (Modern) synagogues
in his calculations, the official center for modern Judaism in Russia
(see below) and the weekly Progressive Shabbat service held at the
Memorial Synagogue at Poklonnaya Gora.
65. KEROOR
is closely associated with Rabbi Goldschmidt and with the Russian
Jewish Congress. It includes religious groups of all Jewish streams.
66. See
p. 10 for reference to the declining enrollment of youngsters from
the Caucasus Mountain area at the Etz Chaim day school, a school
associated with Rabbi Goldschmidt.
|
|
|
|
|