The Jewish Press, January 8, 1999

RUSSIAN KEHILLA FORMS IN BROOKLYN

By Solidarity Rekindled

"Let My People Go" was the battle cry of the 70’s. under the banner of solidarity, the cry was for the release of the Russian Jews from behind the Iron Curtain. "Freedom Now" was not just a slogan but a top priority amongst many American Jews. Solidarity in the 90’s has reappeared in Brooklyn. A group of Flatbush residents have helped establish the first completely Torah observant Russian community or kehilla.

The kehilla is called "Kehillas Moreshes Yaakov" and is currently located in the Young Israel of Midwood. Rabbi Avrahom Binsky, a native of Vilna, Lithuania is the founder and Rav of the kehilla. Rabbi Binsky first heard about solidarity as a young man in Communist Lithuania, where he would listen to broadcasts on Radio Free Russia, describing the activity of American Jews pressing for freedom from oppression, this news gave him the encouragement to press for his own release from Lithuania. Having arrived on these shores eight years ago, he is once again the recipient of American help. He sees this new support in the form and will keep it running. "The board members," Rabbi Binsky says, "are the activists of today. They understand that "Let My People Go," was not just a cry for release of our brothers from physical bondage. It was a call to bring them back to our people. American activists today want to see the Russians become a vibrant part of our people and not to get lost in their new lands."

Is this display of solidarity a momentary flicker, or is this a real throwback to the days of Solidarity Sunday? Many people feel that solidarity is a dead issue in the 90’s. Almost any Russian who wants to leave Russia now can fo so, although there is a waiting period of up to a couple of years. Once they arrive to these shores, the argument goes, Russians are not interested in religion – they want to enjoy and become a part of Western Culture. While there are about one million Russian immigrants in the United States, less than one tenth of one per cent are observant. Rabbi Binsky understands the frustration of the American Jewish community, but feels that this will change as the approach to the Russians change. The American approach to dealing with the Russians has always been with either children or individual families. This approach, he fells, is very difficult, because these children and individual families cannot fight the pressure of their peers, who are not interested in Judaism. Rabbi Binsky has therefore used a community, or kehilla approach to bring Russians closer to their ancestral roots. When Rabbi Binsky meets secular Russian Jews, he knows that they are scared of becoming observant. These newcomers with their atheistic background cannot see themselves in a religious way of life. Once, however, other former "atheists" from the kehilla are introduced to them, their fears begin to fade. The new people see how "normal" an Orthodox Jew can be. They slowly begin going on the path of Torah observance, using the kehilla as a support group. The kehilla members open their homes to new comers, encouraging them to ask questions and voice whatever concerns that might have in becoming practicing Jews. In this warm atmosphere it’s no wonder that the kehilla has blossomed to over 200 members. This kehilla, in fact, represents the first "en masse" Baal Teshuva movement amongst Russians in America.

While the future of American Jewish help for Russians is unclear – the need has never been greater. The one million Russians left in their homeland are very anxious about the political climate. Anti-Semitism has again reappeared in an open ugly way, and the possibility of a mass exodus is very real. The number of Russian Jew in America could easily climb to one and a half million in a very short time. Without the active help of the American Jewish community most of these immigrants would probably fall into the "melting pot" of American assimilation. Solidarity of the 70’s was a clear indication that American Jews feel very strongly about their Russian brothers. If these same Americans can see the dangers that Russians are facing today, solidarity might become the new word of the 90’s.