Jewish community Chabad Lubavitch Moldova

It’s almost ten years since I left my hometown of Kishinev, the capital of the Moldovian Republic in the former Soviet Union. I grew up in a family, which like most other Jewish families in Moldova.

FROM KISHINEV TO ISRAEL
THE BITKIN FAMILY JOURNEY
BY ABRAHAM BITKIN

It’s almost ten years since I left my hometown of Kishinev, the capital of the Moldovian Republic in the former Soviet Union. I grew up in a family, which like most other Jewish families in Moldova, was fairly ignorant of Jewish traditions. When Communism fell, and the fresh breeze of freedom blew across the new republics of the former Soviet Union, a Jewish awakening followed closely behind. Held for seven decades in a prison of enforced ignorance, Jews desperately wanted to find out who they were and to discover what their forefathers had known and lost.

We, in the Kishinev Jewish community felt this pull to discover our roots very strongly. My father Ze’ev (Volodya) Bitkin is a very talented musician, and he led a Jewish choir in Kishinev (which I also took part in). My father also was the head of the Jewish Culture Society, which was originally established to bring an appreciation of Jewish culture and tradition to the community, which then consisted of about 70,000 Jews.

The arrival of Rabbi and Mrs. Abelsky in Kishinev in 1990 was a very exciting event for the whole community. Their presence electrified the Jewish community and brought about a further revival of interest in everything Jewish. My father and the members of his society were inspired with a new energy and they and worked together with the Abelskys to promote the growing interest in Judaism. The division of labor was very simple: My father arranged the community events and Rabbi Abelsky provided the spiritual content. During the years they worked together as a team, my father and Rabbi Abelsky were in contact with most of the Jews throughout Moldova.

Extensive preparations were made before every holiday. Before Passover tens of tons of matzoh were distributed to thousands of Jews who lined up in the synagogue and spilled out onto the street. At the High Holidays, thousands of Jews gathered at the shul to participate in services. We also arranged gala celebrations with entertainment and festive foods for Chanuka and Purim.

The weekly lectures given by Rabbi and Mrs. Abelsky and the many volunteers they recruited from Israel and the U.S. gave the entire community many opportunities to fill in the huge gaps in their knowledge of Judaism. As for me, I still benefit from the knowledge I gained from the private lessons I was lucky enough to have with Rabbi Abelsky.

I’d like to relate an interesting episode from the early days. It was in 1990, just before Lag B’Omer. My father and Zushe Abelsky (who today heads the organization “Friends of Kishinev Jewry”) arranged a Lag B’Omer Parade which was to march down Main Street (then Lenin Avenue). In the uncertain political climate of those days, even my father’s most energetic efforts and his extensive connections with the political hierarchy in the city weren’t enough to gain official approval. In spite of everything he tried, the police refused to issue a license for the parade. This was during the early days after the fall of Communism and confusion and disorder reigned everywhere. Any kind of change was regarded with suspicion and fear. For the city officials, a Jewish parade on the main avenue was very threatening.

After some thought, my father decided to have the parade anyway, even without a police escort. Thank G-d, the parade went peacefully. The only hitch was that Zushe had to leave the country for participating in an llegal activity. (He has since returned many times.) The following year we had no problem receiving the license.

As time passed, the functions and activities which took place on almost a daily basis, gave the Jews of Kishinev an understanding of what it means to live in a genuine Jewish community. The next step was to build a Jewish school – and that’s the school I attended! During the summer, we even had real Jewish summer camps with counselors brought in from Israel and the U.S. For us campers, this was the most fabulous experience – we felt we were finally a part of the Jewish world.

In 1992, my parents made a major decision, to make aliya to the Holy Land – Israel — the place they had dreamed of all their lives. Our arrival at Ben Gurion airport was an experience we will never forget. We had come home. We moved to Moshav Hazorim, near Tiberius. Two years later, we relocated to Hebron, the city of the Patriarchs. When possible my father went every day to pray at the Cave of Machpela. He is still busy with his music, composing and teaching piano. My mother is also involved in music industry, teaching guitar. My sister, a graphic artist, lives in Jerusalem. And I am so happy to be in Israel, I want to invite all of you to come here and help us build up our land.

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