St Petersburg day two
On our second day in Russia, we got up at 8:30 am in St Petersburg. It was still dark but the city was moving. We started our day by doing our prayer in the Grand Choral Synagogue, the only Synagogue in the city that was open throughout the communist era. It was fully run down until the government of Russia returned it to the Jews. It was actually one of the first institutions they gave back. The Synagogue has been remodeled and rededicated thanks to the generosity of the Safra family, and it is now one of the most beautiful Synagogues in the world.
We prayed and read the Torah in the smaller Synagogue, which used to be the Chabad section of the Synagogue. The whole experience was incredible.
We had a delicious breakfast on the third floor of the Synagogue, and went through the complex, which includes a Jewish store filled with kosher items, and artifacts for sale. We were happy to help out the community there by purchasing many products.
From there, we continued the tour of the majestic and palace-filled city of St Petersburg. We heard the midday cannon shot at the Peter Paul Fortress we had visited the day before, where the first Chabad Rebbe had been imprisoned.
We had hors d’ouevres, Lechaims, and wine on a rooftop of the fortress overlooking the water, and celebrated the freedom of the Jewish people in a place where people were once arrested for the crime of practicing Judaism.
We then experienced being drawn by royal carriages up to the hermitage, the winter palace of Catherine the Great. We toured the museum and its special diamond room. The museum was filled with fascinating artifacts. Not all the history is so kind to the Jews, but there were many Jewish themed items we marveled at.
We ended our day in St Petersburg with a 5 star dinner in the Choral Synagogue restaurant, where we heard from Rabbi Pewzner, the Chief Rabbi of St Petersburg, who told that the city currently has 10 Synagogues, and many of the city’s 80,000 Jews are actively involved. In fact, while we were eating in the restaurant, a book reading was going on nearby in the Synagogue, with over 800 Jews in attendance!
Rabbi Pewzner spoke about the Jewish reawakening in St Petersburg. How people attend the Synagogue daily and are part of the community. He noted the difficulties as well, pointing out that most Jews who cared about their Judaism moved to Israel during Perestroika. Those that remained for the most part didn’t care about their Judaism, and it has been tough but rewarding work to reconnect with them, and thousands are active in Synagogues across the city, attending on a daily basis.
Moscow's Jewish triangle
Next day we flew to Moscow, and from there traveled to our hotel in the Marina Roscha neighbourhood, which is where the headquarters of Jewish life in Moscow is located.
Chabad of Moscow has over 32 institutions including schools, shuls, social organizations, and an orphanage. Over 100 families are involved in rebuilding Jewish life there. Chabad manages about 85% of Jewish life in Moscow, and close to 100% of the Jewish life in communities throughout the rest of Russia.
The Chief Rabbi, Berel Lazar, is very close to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Putin is a big supporter of the Jewish institutions. We didn’t hear of any antisemitism in Russia and we all felt very safe wherever we went, carrying ourselves proudly as Jews with Yarmulkes and other Jewish paraphernalia.
We first visited the Marina Roscha Jewish Community Centre, a 9 storey building rebuilt after an antisemitic arson attack in the early days of Perestroika. It used to be a small Synagogue, the only active Synagogue in Moscow during the communist era. After the Synagogue was attacked and burned to the ground, they rebuilt an incredibly beautiful community centre. Putin was at the opening ceremony which took place in 2000. Ever since its been built, the trajectory of Jewish life in Russia has changed and the government has been returning Jewish properties and encouraging Jewish communities to get stronger.
We had a beautiful breakfast. I found that the restaurants in St Petersburg and Moscow are top quality in both service and food. We then went to Zaryadye Park in the centre of Moscow near the Kremlin. It’s like their Place des Arts except 10 times bigger and nicer. It includes a beautiful bridge going over the water. There we went to see a 3D film of Russia and its provinces.
Central Moscow
From there we went to Red Square, which is where the communists used to gather for big parades. Today, it is still a popular square which we explored. Then we went to the new city centre where 10 skyscrapers are going up, many of them being built by Jewish developers.
The one we went into, which includes a mall, is being built by the Leviev Group. It’s an incredibly stunning tower. Malls in North America pale in comparison with this new mall. It’s vibrant, filled with high end stores, and includes the Jaffa restaurant which is magnificent. It’s large, packed with people, and the food they served us was just incredible. This in the middle of a regular work day.
Next up was Arbat Street, a famous one kilometre pedestrian road. It’s a big tourist area in Moscow. Right off Arbat Street is a Chabad House serving English speaking tourists. It’s an embassy-sized house given by Moscow’s government to the Jewish community, and as the yuppie community grows in the area, the house is being renovated. We met with Brooklyn-born Rabbi Yanky Klein, who shared amazing stories, including how a little over a month before, on Simchat Torah, they took the Torahs and danced on Arbat Street, Moscow’s most popular street.
Then we visited the Jewish Museum. It contains the Jewish history in Russia. It also serves as a museum of tolerance and antisemitism, and it is the most interactive and hi-tech museum that anyone in our group has ever seen. The 80-million dollar museum is built on grounds that the Moscow government gave to Chabad. It was an old bus depot and they kept its outer shell. However, upon entering, your jaw drops. The way the story is told and the exhibits is something that should be the envy of every museum in the world, Jewish or beyond. The museum was packed with people, and not only Jews. When they opened, Putin symbolically gave a month of his salary to show his interest in helping to make it happen.
Next, we visited the Bolshoi Bronaya Synagogue, which is in the middle of a high end neighbourhood. During communism, the Synagogue was closed. It was reopened and expanded, and it has a beautiful restaurant on the 5th floor with a rooftop view of Moscow. The restaurant is the highest class kosher restaurant you can find anywhere in the world. We had great food and Lechaims with lively spirit at the restaurant. It’s amazing to walk the streets of Russia feeling free and proud as Jews.
Shabbat in Moscow
On Friday, we stayed in what’s known as the “Jewish triangle,” i.e. the Marina Roscha borough. We saw several schools at different levels of Jewish education. The classrooms are hi-tech and include a focus of caring for children and youth with special needs. We visited the Bukharian Synagogue and the Chesed Centre where they not only run their soup kitchen but also all the social work they do for the entire community. The high quality os what they have built, and how busy and active they are is just unimaginable in a place where just 30 years ago nothing existed as far as Jewish infrastructure is concerned. All of this happened in the last 20 years.
Then we went to the Kremlin. We saw the Kremlin and its museum. The Kremlin was once a feared site, but in modern day Russia it hosts events such as Menorah lightings with Putin, where he gives greetings to the Jewish people, and where today they show support of Israel.
Then we prepared for Shabbat. We spent Friday night with the community of Israelis and tourists in the hotel with Rabbi Friedman. It was a lively experience. The prayers, meal, and discussions were phenomenal.
Shabbat morning, we spent the day in the Marina Roscha Synagogue. It was filled with hundreds of people and hundreds of children singing the prayers were fervor, excitement and passion. The vibrancy of Jewish life was incredible. If you were to walk into any vibrant Jewish place in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Brooklyn or Montreal it would feel the same.
We then ate a beautiful meal in the restaurant with Rabbi Lazar. He spoke about the last 30 years, what they envisioned, and how they built Jewish life. He shared their plans for the future. Moscow has half a million Jews, many of whom are not yet discovered. He described their outreach work to get more Jews involved. He also discussed Putin’s relationship with the Jewish people and how Jewish life is stronger than ever. It was a very inspiring meal.
The trip ended with many from our group going to see the Bolshoi theatre, an others enjoying a relaxing evening in a Russian bath house. Then, everyone got together for a delicious barbecue and farewell dinner where many expressed their wish to return.
We definitely will organize another trip to Russia for others to experience and get inspired.
