Jewish community Chabad Lubavitch Moldova

Dear Friend, My name is Misha Khazin. I came to the United States four years ago, and I am a writer by profession. Now I am working for the Forward, which is a Jewish newspaper.

A PERSONAL NOTE

Dear Unknown Friend,

My name is Misha Khazin. I came to the United States four years ago, and I am a writer by profession. Now I am working for the Forward, which is a Jewish newspaper.

I was born and lived most of my life in Moldova, which was previously known as Bessarabia. Most people know the region from having heard of the terrible pogrom, which took place in Kishinev at the beginning of the 20th century. Perhaps you’ve heard the song “Mein Shtetele Belz”? It describes a small town in Moldova.

Many Moldovan Jews were murdered during the Holocaust of World War II, but this tragedy drew little world attention. For this reason, Eli Weisel called the annihilation of Moldovan Jews in the ghettos and concentration camps there, “the forgotten Holocaust.”

Today, there are about 40,000 Jews left in Kishinev and Moldova. The fact that many of them have recently discovered their spiritual roots, traditions and culture is all thanks to the Chief Rabbi of Kishinev and Moldova, Rabbi Zalman Abelsky and his wife, Rebbetzin Leah. The Abelskys came to Kishinev in 1989, and with their arrival, the renaissance of the community began. Of course, it didn’t happen all by itself, but took a tremendous amount of work and self-sacrifice.

When the synagogue was repaired, it surprisingly attracted not only the older people, which would have been expected, but also the young and middle-aged, who had never experienced Jewish life. The synagogue was equipped with a lunchroom, so the poor and elderly could come and receive a hot meal. Rabbi Abelsky’s hard work paid off when he opened a kindergarten and soon after, a Jewish day school and a yeshiva. In 1999, a teachers’ college was opened to prepare women to teach in Jewish kindergartens and schools. The Abelskys also opened a summer camp, to give Jewish children the opportunity to spend their summer vacation in camp Gan Israel.

Chief Rabbi Abelsky is well respected by the Moldovan authorities, having a personal relationship with the president of the republic. It is enough to say that due to Reb Zalman’s initiative, the street on which the synagogue is located was renamed Chabad Lubavitch Street.

When we lived in Kishinev, my wife Luda and I were very gratified to work together with Rabbi Zalman and his staff. The newspaper Istoki, which Luda published in Kishinev under Rabbi Abelsky’s supervision, is now quite well-known and is widely distributed to Jews throughout Moldova. It even reaches former Moldovans now living in Israel. We were proud and privileged to be a part of the ongoing revival that we witnessed taking place in Moldava.

The economic situation in the small, independent republic of Moldova is terribly difficult, perhaps even worse than in Russia, since Moldova lacks natural resources of oil, gas and coal; therefore electricity and gas are often turned off, causing great suffering. Many times I have seen people cooking their food on outdoor bonfires, because they have no gas. Rent is also very high, and continuously on the rise. The elderly are forced to live on pensions, which because of the rate of inflation, barely cover the rent, leaving virtually nothing left over to buy bread.

I am telling you about the tragic situation in my homeland, in the hope that you won’t forget the suffering of the Jews in Moldova, the community Eli Weisel called, “forgotten”. While researching my future book, I studied the 1903 Kishinev pogrom and I was touched to discover the fact that American Jews rallied to aid Jews in Kishinev. Files from that time list the American cities and communities from New York to San Francisco whose Jews opened their hearts to help their brethren in Moldova who were overwhelmed by terrible calamities.

I know that the humanitarian tradition that existed then, is still alive among American Jews. Therefore, I am appealing to you to please help the poor, the elderly, orphans, the many lonely and the sick Jews who live a marginal existence in Moldova. Help continue the revival of Jewish life in a land that has been bereft of Judaism for close to a hundred years. The Torah teaches us that “One who saves a single person, has saved the whole world.” This expression is heard very often, but having seen the suffering in my native land, I can attest to the simple and basic truth of those words. Please help that one Jew in Moldova.

Sincerely yours,

Misha Khazin

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