Moscow Connections: What Happens In Moscow, Stays in Moscow- At Least Initially

By: Avital Ingber and Irwin Raij

It’s hard to believe our mission is over. For seven days we explored Moscow and learned about the City, experienced the Jewish community and had the opportunity to interact and make new friends with members of Moscow’s e-club.

Upon arrival, we recall the general excitement and anxiousness of the mission participants. We were all tired from flying, but each and every one of the participants couldn’t wait to begin. We boarded our mini-bus for our transfer from the airport to the synagogue and World War II Memorial and along the way established our mission’s ground rules. Most were pretty standard things like please be on time, carry your passports at all times, establishing a buddy system so we wouldn’t leave anyone behind…you get the idea. However, one of the ground rules was “What happens in Moscow, stays in Moscow.” Yes, it was a blatant attempt at humor as we were just beginning our adventure, but we all enthusiastically embraced the rule knowing that we had arrived in what some joke is the wild, wild east. Being that one of us is a lawyer and the other works for Federation, we look back and wish we would have further clarified and limited the rule to just personal behavior because not to share our incredible experiences seems the opposite of our real goal. So we may be a little more detailed in this final mission blog, but we promise to protect the names of the innocent and yes the guilty.

And so the trip began. The cameras were buzzing as we drove through Moscow’s infamous traffic to our first destination. On the way, we went over the itinerary for what seemed to be the 80th time since leaving DC just 12 hours earlier. We were burning off some nervous energy while simultaneously checking to make sure we didn’t forget anything. The mission took more than a year to plan beginning with securing a grant from the Moscow Connections Committee to painstakingly developing an itinerary that we hoped would appropriately balance touring the City, interacting and learning about the Jewish community (past, present and future) and getting a taste of the famous Moscow nightlife. With all of the preparation and planning we hoped the impact of the mission would be real and significant for every participant.

Personally, I (Irwin) was caught off-guard at our initial stop. As we toured the synagogue and its Holocaust memorial Eva Davis called me over to look at a picture of someone that looked almost identical to me. It was eerie to see the same hair, eyes, and face and it rapidly took me from being an excited participant to examining my own past and setting the tone for my entire trip. The funny and yet unsettling part is that this happened on more than one occasion. The families of many participants are originally from this region and for years have read, studied and heard stories of relatives that fled Soviet anti-Semitism to survive. Standing in Moscow brought the stories to life and deepened our appreciation for how fortunate we are.

On numerous occasions we were reminded and in many instances taught about the challenges for Jews in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) but almost immediately afterward we would see hope, determination and the potential for an incredible future. It was a constant study in contrasts.

Witnessing Jews, young and old, singing Israeli songs, praying in synagogue, building a Jewish museum at a Jewish Day School, taking care of home-bound elderly and generally caring for each other was moving. After so many years without a community, it’s remarkable that there is now a sense of responsibility to build a vibrant Jewish life in Moscow. This responsibility is being built in various ways: children in Jewish schools teaching their families the traditions they were prohibited from learning earlier in life, community programs for youth and elderly supported by our Federation through JAFI and JDC, Chabad’s outreach programs, Hillel’s efforts with students and the e-club’s efforts with young professionals just to name a few.

The e-club merits additional thoughts since it seems to mirror what we call Next Gen and this people-to-people connection was one of the most amazing parts of the trip. A week ago we were strangers, but today our mission has built lasting relationships that will hopefully allow our sister city relationship between Moscow and DC to flourish. In truth, the e-club members accepted and treated us as family, one big Jewish family. It’s amazing that across the world, we are connected as Jews because of our Jewish peoplehood and sense of responsibility to take care of one another. The hospitality the e-Club members provided us was remarkable. The e-club helped plan our itinerary, scheduled meetings, showed us around the city and opened up their hearts and minds to share their lives with us. Our interactions with them were not just limited to day time activities. They hosted a Shabbat dinner, took us around town, helped us explore the nightlife, taught us how to drink vodka (at every opportunity) and probably unknowingly created a mosaic in each of our minds of the Jewish community. Our new family members will be joining us in DC this fall and it won’t be easy to live up to the standards they have established, but we are up for the challenge!

There was not a person on the trip who had not heard from Misha (our Federation’s CEO) and others of the nightmare of 70 years of Soviet oppression of its Jews. And perhaps because each of us carried this knowledge in our baggage it was incredible to see people celebrating their Judaism freely in Moscow. In contrast, the level of poverty at which some people live is astonishing. We had the privilege on Thursday evening to go to the famous Moscow circus. But it wasn’t just an ordinary tourist trip to the circus. We took six children with us from underprivileged families who are benefiting from the social services of Chesed Hama. Before the circus, we went to visit these children and their families in their respective homes. When we came into the home, the children were shy and withdrawn. They wouldn't smile or speak. While the children shied away, we had an opportunity to get to know a little about their families and the challenges they face while we sat in rooms that were the size of efficiencies in the US, but in Moscow slept 3 or 4 people. One family was in such need that the youngest child had to attend a school that housed and fed him during the week in order for the family to have enough money to pay bills. Each family described a deep sense of gratitude for the support they receive from us and The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. Fast forward a few hours to the circus, and you would never know that you were with the same children. They were smiling and having a great time! It was a complete transformation and amazing to watch the difference we could make in their lives for just a few hours that evening.

There was one incident at the circus that really made us think and reflect. Through our common language for thousands of years, Hebrew, I (Avital) was able to connect with Veronika, a 13-year-old girl who attends Etz Chayim, a Jewish Day School in Moscow. It was incredible to watch Veronika come out of her shell and become comfortable with us. About halfway through the circus, there was a scene where clowns and monkeys were dressed as Chasidim and pretended to be at a Jewish wedding of two monkeys. Veronika turned to me and asked in Hebrew, “Lama heym yehudim?” – Why are they Jews? I gave her a general answer and explained that some people might think it was funny. The scene went on and our entire group became more and more uncomfortable. We couldn’t decide if it was really a joke and something we should join the crowd in laughter or if we were being too sensitive as Americans? But then it hit, Veronika turned to me and asked if I knew what anti-Semitism was? We had spent four days watching Jews, young and old, express themselves freely. And this one question from a 13-year-old girl put it all together. Just one generation ago this kind of circus humor would not have been questioned as anything other than humor. In actuality, at least one of the Jewish Muscovites attending the circus with us found the scene funny. But today there was a group of young people, joined from DC and Moscow, in attendance and able to challenge what they were seeing freely and with impunity. We may never be able to eradicate anti-Semitism from this world but if we educate our young Jews and give them the beauty of their identity we will persevere as we have for generation after generation.

It’s hard to process this week full of emotions and moving experiences. But everything was put into perspective upon our return when we heard the news of the shooting at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. We are lucky to have been born in the United States but it is nothing more than luck. It could have been any one of us whose family didn’t leave and today was rebuilding the Jewish community of Moscow. But just because we are fortunate to live in the US, does not mean we can ignore the hatred and violence that exists throughout the World, even in our own backyard. We have to continue to stick together as a Jewish people throughout the World and combat the intolerance that continues to exist. We must continue to stand up for our Jewish people and as Avital is named for Avital Sharanksy she continues on the tradition of the name and standing up as a proud Jewish woman for our Jewish people. We are more proud than ever to call ourselves Jews and to be a part of the amazing work that The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is doing around the globe!

еврейский народ живет навсегда – The Jewish People Lives Forever