By COLlive reporter
“I knew I had some Jewish blood, because I remembered hearing my grandma speaking Yiddish whenever she was angry,”Avi said. “But it seemed pretty irrelevant to me – the kid who grew up going to church and wore a cross around his neck.”
“It all began to change when I was in the 11th grade. Our teacher gave us an assignment: to write a report on the religion of our choice. I had read about Islam before, but it didn’t resonate with me. Christianity wasn’t interesting because everyone was Christian. I knew nothing about Judaism. After confirming with my mom that we did indeed have some Jewish roots, I was intrigued.
“I went to the library and loaded up on every book I could find about the Jewish religion. I read. I wrote. I read more. Something began turning inside. My teacher returned my report: 5 out of 5. I asked him if he knew if we had a synagogue in Rostov. He gave me an address.
“That Friday evening, I tucked my cross inside and entered the synagogue for the first time. I was greeted by a rabbi with a huge smile. He gave me a hug and welcomed me. The atmosphere was so warm. I had never experienced that in any church before. I just felt at home.
“I kept coming back, but I knew so little. I had heard that there was a grave of a holy rabbi in Rostov. One Friday night I decided to go pray there. I got in the car and drove over to the cemetery, not knowing that driving was forbidden on Shabbat. I put some coins in the charity box and read some psalms. I was on a high.
“For some reason, though, every time I tried lighting a candle, the flame would go out. I thought it was odd. The next day, I went to the synagogue and vented my frustration about the candle that just wouldn’t light. That was my introduction to the laws of Shabbat.
“I learned a lot. And I learned quickly. Within a year, I got rid of my cross and had a Bris. If you ask me how it all happened, I don’t really know. I just feel like sometimes God takes us by the hand and shows us where to go.”
Avi was one of one hundred and twenty young people from Rostov and Southern Russia who gathered last weekend, erev Rosh Chodesh, for a 3-day Shabbaton filled with learning, hachlatas, and the simcha of Adar, to bring youth closer to a Torah lifestyle.
Working with youth is a cause of great urgency to Rabbi Chaim Danzinger, head shaliach in Rostov on Don, the city that was the capital of Chabad chassidism for 8 years under the leadership of the Rebbe Reshab.
“The young people are the future of the Jewish nation, but they are also on the brink of assimilation. This is really about saving lives,” says Rabbi Danzinger, “because we have to save these kids now, before they are lost to the Jewish nation completely.”
Several times a week, Chabad in Rostov hosts meetings for their youth club, which is now one of the largest in all of Russia with over 150 regular members. They meet for classes and lectures ,share communal meals on Shabbos, and enjoy a few special Shabbatons each year, like the one just ended.
Chabad of Rostov also sends dozens of students – graduates of the day school and others who express interest – to study in yeshivas and seminaries in Moscow or Israel, and they return on Jewish holidays and for the summer to act as counselors and lead activities for the younger students.
The circle is miraculously completed when one of Rostov’s students who began with zero knowledge of Yiddishkeit, progresses to the point that they are accepted and successful as true ‘temimim’ at Tomchei Temimim in Moscow, the school that bears the name of the yeshiva system established by the Rebbe Reshab in Rostov almost a hundred years earlier.
Chabad Rostov currently runs a preschool and day school for more than 100 children; maintaining a shul with daily minyanim and around 120 attendees on Shabbos; offering many weekly adult education classes; directing an overnight camp for 100 children; arranging weddings and bris milah for those who need; and managing a comprehensive chessed organization that distributes food, clothing, and provides services for the elderly and needy.
ואתם תלוקטו אחד אחד
Of course, as a result of The Rebbe Rashab teaching him, he naturally goes to Tomchei Temimim.
Mosiach Now!
Wonderful story. Wonderful work!!! keep it up.
What a story, did not expect to read that!