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No.1, August 2005/ Tammuz 5765
Observations on Jewish Community Life in Moscow
Report of a Visit
November 22 to December 2, 2004
Betsy Gidwitz
This report reviews a visit by the writer to Moscow from November 22 to December 2, 2004.1 During the first three working days (November 23-25) of this period, the writer was accompanied by Gerda Feuerstein, Director of the Former Soviet Union Division of the Jewish Agency Department of Jewish Zionist Education, and Susan Peled, whose responsibilities in the Jewish Agency Department of Jewish Zionist Education include relations with western diaspora communities.2 All of the day schools noted below and certain other education-related institutions were visited in the company of these Jewish Agency officials.
Moscow in early winter of 2004 was a city blanketed by snow and unusually cold for that time of year, even by local standards. Traveling from place to place within the city by private car strained one’s patience and endurance as 21st-century post-communist traffic confronted a street system designed according to 20th-century Soviet canon idealizing public transportation. An accumulation of snow did little to ease movement from one part of the Russian capital to another. A metropolis of some 11 million people, Moscow is the undisputed political, economic, and cultural center of Russia.3 Notwithstanding routine traffic congestion, the center of the city exudes a raw energy similar to that of other primary cities throughout the world. New construction is ubiquitous, upscale private shops are plentiful, and many Russians are busy studying foreign languages.
In all, the writer conferred with approximately 50 individuals in more than 30 formal and informal meetings. Several, including a total of five diplomatic personnel from the United States and Israeli embassies, requested that their remarks be off the record.
Although most professionals in Jewish education elected to confine their comments to the subject of education, many others did not hesitate to declare their concern about “political regression” in Russia. Continuing centralization of Russian media, more limited access to Russian government officials, increasing authoritarianism of President Vladimir Putin, and pervasive corruption were all cited as disturbing factors. The Russian government attack on oil producer Yukos, ostensibly for failure to pay taxes, has frightened potential foreign investors. The general lack of transparency in Russian business transactions is a deterrent to economic growth. Capital flight is increasing, and inflation is growing.
Recalling an earlier era, some local people are hesitant to speak with foreigners. Also evoking previous years, Russian foreign policy is perceived as imperial in character, a recrudescence of both imperial and Soviet strategy toward its closest neighbors (the “near abroad,” as many Russians refer to the other former Soviet republics). “The Russians have dug a big hole for themselves in Ukraine,” said one foreign observer. Georgia and Moldova also were cited as victims of Russian imperialism.4
Although state-directed antisemitism has ceased, many individuals with whom the writer spoke have observed an increased level of street antisemitism. Much of such prejudice appears to be a by-product of growing Russian nationalism.5
Estimates of the size of the Moscow Jewish population range from 120,000 to 500,000 core Jews, with five of nine Moscow respondents to this question offering answers in the range of 200,000 to 250,000.6 Several respondents pointedly discounted the figure of 108,000 estimated by noted demographer Sergio DellaPergola of Hebrew University.7 The number of core and extended Jews in Russia eligible to immigrate to Israel under provisions of the Israeli Law of Return was estimated at between 400,000 and 3 million, compared to DellaPergola’s figure of 252,000.8
Whatever the precise number of Jews living in Moscow (and Russia), almost all observers believe that the Jewish population is in “catastrophic demographic decline,” reflecting an aging Jewish population, high mortality rate, low fertility rate, high assimilation, and massive emigration. A Moscow newspaper declared in 2003 that Moscow Jewry was “on the verge of extinction,” citing a 10:1 death-to-birth ratio and an average age among Moscow Jews of between 52 and 56. The paper stated that the leading reason for the Jewish population decline was “large-scale emigration.”9
Notwithstanding the reality that the Jewish population of Moscow (and Russia) is diminishing precipitously in numbers, Jews remain prominent in Russian culture, science, mathematics, and academic life. However, such eminence may be coming to an end as remaining younger Jews abandon these fields in favor of careers in business and, to some extent, law. Opportunities for greater remuneration seem to be the major factor motivating career choices for Jews and non-Jews alike. Reports of Jewish adolescents from middle-class families forgoing post-secondary education in favor of entering business at age 17 also are common.10
The consensus among individuals interviewed by the writer is that only a small minority of the Jewish population, perhaps two to eight percent of younger and middle-age Jews, is engaged in any type of Jewish activity. (This number may climb to 20 percent if elderly and infirm Jews receiving assistance from Jewish welfare organizations are included in calculations.) Non-participation derives from several factors, including an absence of high-quality programs in non-religious settings that appeal to the largely secular Jewish population, continuing apprehension rooted in the Soviet period about the wisdom of associating with Jewish organizations, uneasiness about political attachments of some organizations and the fear of being drawn into larger conflicts, and discomfort with the perceived low cultural level of several rabbis who lead organizations, especially those rabbis associated with hasidic movements.
Notwithstanding these factors, some observers estimate that as many as 500 Jewish organizations exist in the Russian capital, the overwhelming majority of which are small groups with minuscule followings and equally insignificant budgets. Conflicts between these groups are numerous and concurrently trivial and complex, often exasperating foreign organizations (such as the Jewish Agency, Joint Distribution Committee, and embassies) that desire to maintain good relations with all segments of the Jewish population. The lack of an established civil culture in Russia further impedes development of Jewish organizational life.
Toward the end of the 1990’s, the Russian Jewish Congress, led by now-exiled oligarch Vladimir Gusinsky, appeared to be developing into a broad-based Jewish civil organization with an expanding program reaching well beyond Moscow into regional Jewish population centers far from the Russian capital. Mr. Gusinsky contributed his own resources and engaged other Jewish businessmen in these endeavors. However, in late 2001, President of Russia Vladimir Putin seemed to signal an end to an independent Jewish community, embracing the Chabad faction associated with oligarch Levi Levayev and its politically pliant Moscow head rabbi, Berel Lazar. Rabbi Lazar was named Chief Rabbi of Russia, notwithstanding the fact that Rabbi Adolf Shayevich already held that position. The Federation of Jewish Organizations of Russia (known as FEOR, its Russian acronym), clearly controlled by Chabad, became the favored Kremlin Jewish organization and is amply vested with both political and financial privilege. Nonetheless, shortly before the writer arrived in Moscow in late 2004, a government-inspired change of leadership occurred within the struggling post-Gusinsky Russian Jewish Congress, perhaps heralding new opportunity for the development of both civil and non-hasidic Judaism in Russia.
The writer asked more than a dozen individuals to name the most highly respected Jews in Moscow. The question itself generated surprise and, initially, elicited only negative responses, most commonly, “not the oligarchs.” Several individuals subsequently mentioned Vitaly Ginzburg, one of three 2003 Nobel laureates in physics. Professor Ginzburg, who is publicly pro-Israel and equally publicly an atheist, is now 88 years old and is moderately active in the Russian Jewish Congress. No other individual was mentioned by name by any of the respondents.
Nobel laureate physicist Vitaly Ginzburg is seen at right.
Photo: www.Nobelprize.org/physics/laureate/2003/ginzburg-autobio.html
Jewish Education
Day Schools
1. As noted above, Jewish education was the focus of the first three days of the writer’s visit to Moscow. Five Jewish day schools and several other Jewish educational institutions were visited during this period, and discussions also were held with professional personnel in supplemental, informal, and higher Jewish education. After two accompanying specialists from the Jewish Agency for Israel Department for Jewish Zionist education returned to Israel, the writer visited several additional programs and spoke with several other professionals in the field.
Each of the five day schools described below receives some subsidy from the Jewish Agency for Israel through the Hephzibah program, which previously was controlled by the Israeli government through Nativ11 and the Israeli Ministry of Education.12 Several Jewish day schools not supported by Heftzibah also exist in the Russian capital, including yeshiva-type schools under the auspices of Chabad, an early education center operated by Chamah,13 and a new private school enrolling a small number of Israeli children whose families now reside in Moscow.
2. Achey Tmimin and Beit Rivka are the boys’ and girls’ schools respectively of the Chabad movement in Moscow, operating under the Chabad Ohr Avner program. The two schools conduct separate classes in the same building (School #1871), enrolling 280 youngsters (compared to 300 during the writer’s last visit in 1999) in grades one through eleven. Achey Tmimim and Beit Rivka are often referred to collectively by the name of the boys’ school or as “the Kuravsky school”, the latter in reference to its principal Zev Kuravsky.
 Zev Kuravsky, at left, is principal of a Chabad school in Moscow. The Chabad movement also operates several other educational institutions in the Russian capital, including yeshiva-type schools for boys and girls, a traditional yeshiva for young men, and colleges for both men and women.
Mr. Kuravsky said that ten to 20 pupils were members of families that had returned to Russia from Israel recently; several such youngsters had attended the school before their families made aliyah, but others were born in Israel. As has been the experience in other Jewish day schools in Russia and Ukraine, Mr. Kuravsky said that the Hebrew-language skill of the Israeli pupils raises the level of Hebrew studies in the school. However, the Russian-language skills of some of the same pupils were far below those of veteran pupils. About 30 School #1871 youngsters, said Mr. Kuravsky, are brought to the school every day from a Chabad home for at-risk and orphaned children.
About one-quarter of the curriculum is devoted to Jewish studies, including three lessons weekly in Hebrew and three in Jewish tradition; from fifth grade onward, one hour of Jewish history also is included. Two Hephzibah-supported teachers from Israel teach most of the Hebrew-language classes, and locally educated instructors teach classes in Jewish tradition. Mr. Kuravsky expressed his appreciation to JAFI for funding the Hebrew teachers; he said that the Israelis are better trained than those who are prepared locally, but that some of them understand neither the “Russian mentality” nor the Russian language.
In response to a question, Mr. Kuravsky said that many of the female graduates attend the Chaya Mushka machon, a Chabad women’s college, and some of the male graduates are now enrolled in the International Institute of the 21st Century, a new Chabad college for men. Other graduates continue their education at conventional Russian institutes and universities.
In answering another question, Mr. Kuravsky said that the school faces four problems. The first is the issue of demography. The school accepts only those children who are Jewish according to halakha, i.e., children whose mothers are Jewish; the incidence of intermarriage in Moscow is so high that relatively few children in the city are halakhically Jewish. Further, he continued, School #1871 is located close to the Etz Chaim school, another Orthodox school that also accepts only halakhically Jewish youngsters. When asked if competition exists between his school and Etz Chaim, Mr. Kuravsky responded, ”Безусловно (Absolutely).”
Second, he stated that standards in the Jewish portion of the curriculum are lower than standards in the general studies curriculum. The school offers each grade five class periods every week in English-language instruction, but only three in Hebrew. Further, Jewish studies textbooks, curricula, and methodology are mediocre. He later noted that one of the Israeli Hebrew teachers at the school, a young woman from Kfar Chabad, ordered textbooks from the United States because these approach the Hebrew language as a second language and thus are suited for diaspora education; JAFI continues to use the Nativ textbooks that are intended for use in Israeli schools where Hebrew is the native language.14 Hephzibah under JAFI auspices, said Mr. Kuravsky, should help the school improve the level of Jewish education in the school; however, he is not sure how this can be done.15 He believes that only a yeshiva provides the general sense of direction and atmosphere in which high standards of Jewish studies can be maintained.
The third issue, said Mr. Kuravsky, is related to the second. Parents want their children to study in prestigious or elite schools. However, it may be impossible to combine a high level of Jewish studies with an elite level of general studies. In later comments, he seemed to back down, acknowledging that perhaps an elite science curriculum, for example, could coexist with a high level of Jewish studies.
Fourth, continued Mr. Kuravsky, many pupils must commute a great distance to reach the school. Transportation requires an excessively long period of time and generates substantial fatigue among youngsters.
In conclusion, Mr. Kuravsky declared that, as Jews, we are obligated to think first of all about the Jewish people, not about mathematics or other secular subjects. Jewish continuity is more important than general subjects and should drive the entire curriculum. Therefore, it may be “impossible” for a Jewish school to be an elite school in terms of secular studies. We must learn how to prepare youngsters for further education within this context.16 The ideal of Jewish education is to teach people how to perceive themselves as Jews, whether they are tailors or professors.
The young Hebrew teacher from Kfar Chabad proudly showed our delegation a project completed by older girls at the school. Using illustrations cut from magazines and text that they had written in Hebrew and English, the girls had prepared notebooks showing examples of appropriately modest attire for Jewish women.
3. Etz Chaim (School #1621) is a modern/centrist Orthodox day school associated with Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, Chief Rabbi of Moscow. His wife, Dara Goldschmidt, a graduate of Stern College in New York, has been very active in the administration of the school but was on sabbatical leave at the time of the JAFI delegation visit.
Etz Chaim currently enrolls 170 youngsters in grades 1-11 and 60 in a separate preschool program, a radical reduction from 293 in grades 1-11 and 75 in preschool classes in 1999. About 10 percent of all pupils are from Georgian families that moved to Moscow during the perestroika period (1987 to 1991) or after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Among the pupils are 22 youngsters from a home for at-risk children operated by Rabbi Goldschmidt.
Etz Chaim offers an extra-curricular program that includes girls’ and boys’ choirs, chess, and several other activities. Some of these groups meet on Sundays at the school. The girls’ choir, some of whose members are shown at right, has cut several CD’s.
The preschool is coeducational as are early elementary grades; boys and girls are in separate classes in grades 5-11. Of the 60 children in the preschool (Gan Am Yisroel), half are local youngsters and half are Israelis. The Israeli children are taught in Hebrew.
Twenty-four students graduated from 11th grade in 2004, six of whom enrolled in different Israeli programs with the intention of building their future lives in Israel. Most of the rest enrolled in Moscow post-secondary institutions, including the prestigious Moscow State University and Moscow Bauman State Technical University.
The Jewish studies program at Etz Chaim includes four class periods weekly of Hebrew language instruction and four hours of a combination of Chumash, Jewish tradition, and Jewish history. Additionally, the school offers non-compulsory prayer, bar/bat mitzvah preparation, shabbatonim, and holiday observances. Etz Chaim maintains several supervised apartments near the Choral Synagogue where up to 15 pupils can stay for Shabbat and holidays. Eleventh graders spend two weeks in Israel in a program subsidized by JAFI.
In response to a question, school administrators said that Hebrew textbooks provided by the Nativ Hephzibah program are inadequate. Etz Chaim uses Hebrew language texts published for use by Jewish day school students in the United States.
4. Beit Yehudit (School #1330) was started in 1990 by Rivka Weiss, a woman of Belgian and Israeli background, who sought a Jewish day school education for her own daughter. Mrs. Weiss came to Moscow with her husband, Rabbi David Weiss, who is employed by another Jewish organization in the Russian capital.
The school currently enrolls 70 girls and 60 boys in grades 1-11, a sharp contrast to the situation in 1999, the time of the writer’s last visit. In 1999, 150 girls in grades 1-11 and 10 boys in grades in grades 1-3 were enrolled. All of the girls now board at the school, including 20 from Moscow who go home on weekends. The girls live on the upper floors of a building that was undergoing renovation in 1999. The lower floors of this building contain the classrooms for boys; the ten to 12 boys who board at the school live in apartments maintained by the school. Girls and boys study in separate classrooms in different buildings.
Among the boarding students are many from distant points in Siberia and Central Asia. Mrs. Weiss said that about five percent are returning Israelis, most of whom are of Georgian background. A large number of youngsters come from troubled family situations; some, said Mrs. Weiss, are unable to adjust to conditions at the Orthodox school and are sent home.
Rivka Weiss directs the Beit Yehudit school in Moscow, a dormitory institution that educates many youngsters from at-risk situations in remote locales. Her husband teaches at the school on a part-time basis and her son and daughter-in-law also are employed at Beit Yehudit.
The school day begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 4:15 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Wednesday and Friday are short days, with classes ending substantially earlier. Pupils are enrolled in a conventional general studies curriculum and 5 to 7 hour class periods weekly of Jewish studies. The latter consist of 3 to 4 hours of Hebrew and 2 to 3 hours of Jewish tradition.17 Through informal education programs after school, on Shabbat, and on Sundays, said Mrs. Weiss, boarding pupils receive many additional hours of Jewish education.
After graduation, many pupils continue their education at seminaries and yeshivot in Israel. Beit Yehudit maintains ties with a number of such institutions to facilitate the enrollment of graduates in appropriate programs. Most of these students remain in Israel.
Beit Yehudit also has created a local seminary program for young women who have graduated from the regular school, but do not go to Israel immediately after finishing 11th grade.18 This program includes study components as well as work opportunities in the school.
5. Avi Ganon, National Director of ORT Russia, and Vladimir Leshiner, Principal, spoke with the writer and two Jewish Agency associates at ORT Secondary School (School #326) in Moscow. The school enrolls 325 pupils in grades five though 11, compared with 350 at the time of the writer’s most recent previous visit in 1998. Mr. Leshiner said that the capacity of the school is 400. The decrease in enrollment over the last six years, continued Mr. Leshiner, is due to a declining number of Jews in Moscow and, in particular, a falling Jewish birth rate. Jewish youngsters, both halakhic and non-halakhic, account for about 80 percent of school enrollment; the remaining 20 percent are non-Jewish children from the district whose families value the computer technology program in the school.19
The Kyiv school is one of six ORT schools in Russia and Ukraine.20 Additionally, ORT maintains technology centers in several other day schools operated by different organizations, including Chabad. It also sponsors a technology college in Moscow, and maintains computer centers in seven Israel cultural centers (attached to Israeli consulates), two Jewish Agency centers, and two JDC-sponsored Jewish community centers. Additionally, it funds vocational training centers in several cities and has produced a limited amount of Russian-language software on Jewish themes.
ORT school programs had been supported in part by the Israeli Ministry of Education through Nativ, the Liaison Bureau operating from the office of the Prime Minister of Israel. When the Ministry transferred its education responsibilities to JAFI in 2003, ORT found that its subsidy had been reduced. Technically, JAFI subsidies equal those of the Ministry; however, because Nativ is a government organization, it did not pay taxes in Russia. Jewish Agency programs, though, are assessed taxes and ORT, in common with other JAFI-subsidized schools, finds that JAFI salaries paid to Hebrew teachers are taxed at the Russian rate of 40 percent. Thus, JAFI assumption of Nativ education responsibilities has resulted in a financial loss for ORT.
Mr. Ganon estimated that the average Moscow salary is about $1,000 monthly. Private schools pay their teachers an equivalent amount, but public (state) school teachers earn much less, perhaps about $200. ORT adds another $100 to the state salaries that are paid to most teachers. Good teachers of foreign languages, including both English and Hebrew, are difficult to find and draw salaries of at least $500, said Mr. Ganon.
Pupils at the Moscow ORT school are seen in the photo at left doing class work in Hebrew.
Reflecting faculty compensation and other economic difficulties, the entire ORT system is operating at a deficit of about $300,000 annually, continued Mr. Ganon. Certain schools have more problems than others, he said; for example, some must pay extraordinary amounts for pupil transportation if the local public transportation system is inadequate. If ORT cannot provide the necessary funding, school enrollment falls and the school becomes excessively expensive to operate for the small number of pupils in attendance. Mr. Ganon cited the ORT school in Samara as particularly problematic in this regard.
Additional financial support also is required to assist pupils with medical and social disabilities. Mr. Leshiner commented that Jewish parents perceive Jewish schools as more supportive and sympathetic than other schools and look to Jewish schools for assistance with the problems of their children.
All pupils in the ORT school, including those who are not Jewish, are enrolled in six to 10 class hours weekly of Jewish studies. Youngsters study both the Hebrew language and a combination of Jewish tradition and Jewish history. The technology program occupies a special role in an ORT school, said Mr. Ganon, but, whereas the ORT school offered the most extensive computer technology program of any school in Moscow in the mid-1990’s, this is no longer the case. Probably 10 schools in the Russian capital now have computer technology programs equivalent to or better than that available at ORT, he said.
In response to a question, Mr. Ganon said that graduates of the ORT school matriculate at a variety of colleges and universities in Moscow. These include the ORT Technology College, specialized electronics and mathematics institutes, and several different Jewish studies programs.
In addition to formal studies, ORT offers pupils several different informal programs that are subsidized by the Avi Chai Foundation. Among these are a song and dance ensemble and a desktop publishing program. Additionally, three shabbatonim are offered to pupils and their parents; as would be expected, the shabbatonim offer an intensive Jewish experience, a real benefit to school parents who, said Mr. Ganon, are the “lost generation” of Moscow Jews.
6. School #1311, also known as the Lipman School, is considered by many to be the showplace Moscow Jewish day school. The latter name refers to Grigory Lipman, the well-known and highly respected principal of the school. The Lipman school is not associated with a particular Jewish denomination, but is described by Mr. Lipman as being “traditional;” boys are encouraged to wear kipot, but many girls wear pants instead of the skirts that are required in most Orthodox schools.
Grigory Lipman, seen in the photo at right, has been principal of School #1311since its inception 13 years ago. Among the events celebrating its Bar Mitzvah was an alumni reunion and gathering in Jerusalem in November 2004. Along with school officials, 24 current students traveled to Israel for the festivities that involved many alumni now living in Israel.
The school enrolls 365 pupils, compared with 300 enrolled at the time of the writer’s last visit in 1998. Mr. Lipman said that five to 10 youngsters at every grade level are youngsters who have returned to Russia from Israel with their families. Additionally, the school accepts some transfer students from other, more Orthodox, day schools who prefer a more liberal Jewish setting.
The Jewish studies curriculum includes four class hours of Hebrew each week, two to three hours of Jewish tradition, and one hour of Jewish history. Additionally, the school has developed an innovative Jewish history museum that acquaints pupils (and many visitors) with a sophisticated depiction of major currents in the Jewish experience.
School #1311 also boasts a strong computer technology program that is funded in part by ORT. Two large classrooms and several smaller workshops are filled with a variety of equipment.
A recent addition to the school is an early childhood center that operates according to Montessori principles. The teaching staff at the center works closely with parents, engaging them in the educational and play activities of their youngsters.
At left is the model Jewish home at the Lipman school early childhood center. A violin shares prominence with a menorah, Shabbat candles and wine goblet, and Torah. Unlike early childhood centers in many other post-Soviet Jewish settings that are filled with large garish plastic equipment and toys, the #1311 center is furnished with simple wooden equipment similar to the stove at lower right and with many simple wooden toys.
A less attractive reminder of the times is mounted on a corridor bulletin board at School #1311. A mass-produced poster clearly designed for schools bears the title, “How to Conduct Yourself During an Act of Terror.”
Sunday Schools
7. According to Efraim Kholmiansky, the chief education emissary for the Jewish Agency in Moscow, between 110 and 120 Sunday schools existed in Russia in late 2004, of which 20 to 30 were in Moscow. JAFI hopes to increase the number in Russia to 130 during the first half of 2005, recognizing that most Jewish youngsters have no exposure to Judaism other than that provided in a Sunday school or in an obviously severely time-restricted summer camp.
Most Sunday schools are very small, continued Mr. Kholmiansky. Typically, they enroll about 20 youngsters between ages five or six and about 13, who are divided for instructional purposes into two- or three-year age cohorts. The founding directors of such programs usually are very enthusiastic and eagerly search out information and teaching materials. The Pincus Fund of the Jewish Agency and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany provide support to some of these endeavors, the latter for teaching about the Holocaust. Nonetheless, said Mr. Kholmiansky, many of the teachers in these schools are poorly trained, and some of the directors emigrate to Israel after a few years or eventually lose energy. Further, teaching materials are in short supply.
Several Jewish organizations, stated Mr. Kholmiansky, sponsor Sunday clubs for children; these may offer sports, Jewish music and dance, and information about Jewish holidays but are not serious schools. Mr. Kholmiansky added that some Sunday school endeavors in smaller towns are more successful than those in large cities because fewer options (and thus fewer distractions) exist in such locales; enthusiastic teachers prepare lessons and materials for children who have few alternative attractions on Sundays.
The writer observed or heard about a number of Jewish Sunday programs in Moscow. She saw 21 children divided into two groups at the large Chabad Jewish community center on Vysheslavtsev street. Although the program was promoted as a Sunday school, few teaching materials were apparent. According to Chabad, eight similar Chabad Sunday schools operate in other parts of Moscow. The Jewish Agency operates a much larger Sunday program at its Vadkhovsky street center, enrolling 130 children who participate in a full day of classes in Jewish tradition, Hebrew, English, dance, music, arts and crafts, and computer technology. The Jewish tradition course includes holiday observance, Jewish civilization and history, and a Bar/Bat Mitzvah program (funded separately by UJA-Federation of New York). The dance, music, and arts and crafts classes include significant Jewish components.
The Conservative/Masorti movement in Moscow is seeking financial support for a full-day Sunday school that would offer classes in Jewish tradition, Israel studies, Hebrew, Jewish music and dance, and various sports activities. A group currently meets on occasion for limited Jewish activity in a fitness facility owned by a Moscow Jew, but has been unable to secure funding for a continuing comprehensive program under the supervision of qualified educators.
Academic Jewish Studies21
8. The field of Jewish studies in higher education began to develop in the post-Soviet states in the early 1990’s. Courses in Jewish history, philosophy, literature, linguistics, Bible, art, music, sociology, and other fields were created at several existing universities and institutes; additionally, Jewish studies programs were integrated into new academic institutions created during the perestroika years or early post-Soviet period.
Academic courses in Jewish studies were initiated by faculty members trained in traditional academic areas, such as east European history or literature, who may have had a long-standing personal curiosity about the Jewish aspects of their fields but were constrained from pursuing such interests during the Soviet period. Although they moved quickly, and often capably, in establishing related Jewish courses, they nonetheless lack the systematic training and experience common among established Jewish studies academics in the West. Additionally, some lack certain professional skills, particularly fluency in the English language, that facilitate career development. As a new specialty in Russian academia, the field of Jewish studies lacks the stature that attracts state funding and permits the establishment of necessary infrastructure.22
Some foreign funding has come from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Louis A. Pincus Fund of the Jewish Agency for Israel, several private Jewish foundations, and UJA-Federation of New York. Locally, the Russian Jewish Congress and several Jewish businessmen have supported university Jewish studies. However, these funds are insufficient to subsidize academic Jewish studies across the vastness of Russia; further, some Jewish donors may be hesitant to support an endeavor that has attracted a large proportion of non-Jewish students.23
Reflecting a lack of infrastructure and the precarious financial condition of many universities and other post-Soviet institutions of higher education, early graduates of Russian studies programs have encountered severe difficulties in securing professional employment.24 At the same time, current faculty members are unable to support themselves and their families on one academic salary (even when combined with the salary of a spouse), and many teach in more than one program in order to meet expenses.25
Of the four main academic programs in Moscow, two participate in collaborative arrangements with foreign institutions that serve to mitigate some of the issues described above. The Center of Jewish Studies and Jewish Civilization at Moscow State University (MGU), perhaps the most prestigious university in Russia, was established in 1998 in cooperation with Hebrew University in Jerusalem.26 CJSJC offers MGU BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees with majors in Jewish languages and literature, Jewish history, and society, politics, and economics of Israel. Hebrew University faculty members teach courses in those area in which local professors lack appropriate experience. The Moscow director of CJSJC is Professor Arkady Kovelman.
Project Judaica was established at an institutional forerunner to the Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU) in 1991 jointly with two New York institutions, the Jewish Theological Seminary and YIVO.27 Initially, the program focused on preparation of specialists for work in Russian archives, but it now includes courses in Hebrew, Yiddish, Bible, rabbinic literature and modern Jewish literature, Jewish history, and Jewish philosophy. The course of studies at Project Judaica is five years in length and confers a certificate upon its graduates, the approximate equivalent of a master’s degree. Some students may spend a portion of their academic experience at JTS; many enroll at MGU or foreign institutions for graduate study. The role of visiting American professors in the program is significant, and the overall program is perceived by some in the active Moscow Jewish community as a foreign implant. The Moscow executive director of Project Judaica is Mark Kupovetsky.
The Jewish University of Moscow was established in 1991 as a private humanities and social sciences institution offering a specialist diploma (between a BA and MA) in Russian and east European Jewish history, modern Hebrew, Israel studies, Judaism and Jewish tradition, Bible and classical Jewish studies, Semitic and Near Eastern studies, sociology, and education. In 2003, the name of JUM was changed to Shimon Dubnov Advanced School for the Humanities because, said President Alexander Militarev, the word Jewish in its title summoned up images of a yeshiva and alienated the Jewish intelligentsia. Further, government authorities were reluctant to confer the status of university upon a private institution. Dubnov,28 as JUM is now known, is recognized as particularly strong in Jewish history, Bible, and sociology. The Dubnov school is located physically within Moscow State University and works collaboratively with CJSJC; it also is affiliated with Moscow State Pedagogical University, which enables its students to become certified teachers. Some Dubnov graduates continue their studies at CJSJC or at Hebrew University, others teach in various institutions in the Moscow area. Among its funders are the Russian Jewish Congress, several Moscow Jewish businessmen, the Pincus Fund of the Jewish Agency, the Joint Distribution Committee, and several private foundations.
Alexander Militarev, President of Shimon Dubnov Advanced School for the Humanities, is seen at left in a photo provided by the Dubnov school.
The Maimonides State Classical Academy (GKA) is a state institution with departments in law, medicine, psychology, computer technology, music, and philology. The main emphasis of the philology department is modern Hebrew and the teaching of Hebrew. A MA-level diploma is conferred upon its 15 Hebrew graduates annually, approximately half of whom now teach in Jewish Agency ulpans, several universities and colleges, and both the Lipman and ORT schools.29 Mikhail Chlenov is Dean of the philology department.
9. SEFER, the Moscow Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization30 , promotes Jewish studies at the university level and represents faculty, students, and institutions engaged in Jewish studies. Its current membership includes several hundred scholars and approximately 100 institutions throughout Russia and the other successor states.
Sefer organizes an annual national Jewish studies conference as well as regional and student conferences, seminars, workshops, and tutorial sessions. It sponsors and coordinates visits of foreign scholars, and arranges for lecturers to speak in peripheral communities. It has published directories of Judaica programs in the post-Soviet states, research bibliographies, anthologies of academic writings, and curricula for use in teaching various Judaica courses. It is building a Judaica library at the Sefer center in Moscow. Sefer is dependent upon JDC for funding.
Other Post-Secondary Jewish Studies Programs
10. Other post-secondary institutions include a Moscow division of Touro College, whose Jewish studies department was weakened severely when its director emigrated to Israel, and two institutions operated by the Chabad Federation of Jewish Communities, Machon Chamesh – Chaya Mushka (for women) and the International Institute of the 21st Century (for men). The former offers degree programs in Jewish studies, education, and business; the latter, currently in only its second year of operation, is preparing students for careers in a variety of fields, including computer technology, accounting, law, Jewish studies, and education. Their Jewish studies programs are considered “marginal” by academics in more conventional university settings and, as one such professor noted, the Jewish education graduates of Machon Chamesh are “invisible” in the larger Moscow Jewish education community. The overwhelming majority of students in both Chabad institutions are from smaller Jewish population centers some distance from Moscow; they are referred to Moscow by Chabad rabbis in these locales and live in dormitories attached to the respective institutions.
Several formal orthodox yeshivas operate in Moscow. Additionally, the Institute for Jewish Studies, which is associated with Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, offers a series of Jewish studies seminars. The Torah MiTzion organization, which is associated with the Orthodox Zionist movement and hesder yeshivas in Israel, operates a kollel based in the Moscow Choral Synagogue. In addition to a Beit Midrash, the kollel offers an ulpan, women’s social club, Shabbatonim, holiday celebrations, various programs in smaller Jewish population centers outside Moscow, and several activities for children. Participants in the synagogue-based Beit Midrash (observed by the writer in a brief visit) did not appear to be serious about their studies, and the overall direction of the kollel program is unclear.31 The Torah MiTzion venture receives a substantial subsidy from the Jewish Agency for Israel.
The Progressive (Reform) movement operates a two-year machon (institute) in Moscow for the preparation of social and community workers. Approximately 30 students from throughout the post-Soviet states are enrolled in the program and are expected to work as para-professionals in Progressive communities after completing their studies in the Russian capital. The first year of the machon course includes Jewish text study, sociology, and principles of community work. The second year includes a community work practicum, life cycle events, and a diploma thesis. Most participants earned university degrees prior to entering the machon, but some have more limited post-secondary school experience. According to Rabbi Grigory Kotlyar, one of two Progressive rabbis supervising the machon program, the best machon students may be invited to study for the rabbinate at Abraham Geiger College in Germany.
Student Groups
11. Several organizations operate groups for Jewish students, each attempting to engage Jewish young people between the ages of 17 and 25 or 26.32 The most prominent are Hillel and Jewish Agency student clubs. The Reform movement and Chabad also attempt to engage this age group in Jewish activity.33
Hillel operates 15 centers in Russia, seven in Ukraine, and one each in Azerbaizhan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Uzbekistan. According to Hillel, approximately 150,000 Jews attend post-secondary educational institutions in the post-Soviet states, 10,000 of whom are engaged with Hillel. Hillel offers a multi-faceted program including holiday celebrations, Jewish education, Israel and Hebrew studies, social action, arts and culture, career development, and global connections.34 Unlike the United States where most Hillel programs are campus-based, Hillel in the post-Soviet states operates city-wide programs. Moscow Hillel has ground floor premises in a good neighborhood; these quarters can accommodate day-to-day programs, but auditoriums or other space is rented for special events.
Anna Purinson, formerly the Hillel director in St. Petersburg, now is based in Moscow and is Hillel Country Director for all of Russia. Dr. Purinson estimated that 100,000 Jewish students are enrolled annually in Moscow institutions of higher education. Seventy-five percent to 80 percent of such students are local and live at home while commuting to their universities or institutes. Dr. Purinson added that a small number of Moscow students from wealthy families are now renting apartments during their student years. Only about 15 percent of all Moscow Jewish students are active in Jewish life, Dr. Purinson continued. Moscow hosts about 100 universities or other post-secondary educational institutions, of which perhaps six to 10 have high concentrations of Jewish students.35 These include the prestigious Moscow State University (especially the mathematics and physics faculties) as well as Russian State University for the Humanities, a large pedagogical university, and a specialized institute training professionals for the burgeoning Russian oil and gas industry.
In an attempt to engage a greater number of Jewish students, Hillel is expanding and diversifying its program content, which, until recently, focused heavily on Jewish tradition. It is now including more activity in arts and culture, intellectual pursuits, and sports and recreation. It also is providing more opportunities for student involvement in social and community projects, including Tzedek Hillel, social activities, and business and career preparation. Dr. Purinson said that many students are now seeking part-time jobs or internships related to their career hopes. Both financial gain and useful experience motivate student desires for such employment, she stated. The close Hillel relationship with the Joint Distribution Committee facilitates the association of interested students with JDC’s many welfare programs.
Groups of students are encouraged to apply for student initiative grants in support of specific activities. Through such grants, Hillel has been able to offer training in emergency care to some medical students, along with discussions about the Jewish outlook on medicine. For this and similar endeavors, Hillel turns to the Sefer organization of Jewish studies programs for teaching resources.
Wherever possible, Dr. Purinson stated, Hillel works collaboratively with other organizations. Hillel is working with the Jewish Agency and the Israeli government in follow-up programs for students returning from Taglit (birthright Israel) trips to Israel. In some smaller Jewish centers, Hillel and Chabad sponsor a unified student program, notwithstanding the Chabad requirement that participants in its Arevim student groups be halakhically Jewish.
Publicity about Hillel programs must be geared to specific communities. In some smaller Jewish population centers, such as Penza (an industrial city southeast of Moscow in central Russia), it is not advisable to announce Hillel activities through posters in public places. In Moscow, some university administrators willingly accept Hillel publicity in university publications. Many Jewish day school graduates approach Hillel based on advice from day school advisors.
In response to a question, Dr. Purinson said that the greatest Hillel priorities are professional training for Hillel staff members and development of sociological studies that show student interests. Regarding professional training, many current staff lack management skills and some even lack the skills necessary to implement specific Hillel programs.
In an effort to maintain her medical skills, Dr. Purinson works one day each week as a gynecologist in the Rambam medical clinic, a program associated with the Chabad hesed known as Hesed Ezra. Dr. Purinson said that she considers her work in the Chabad program to be a good example for students, showing tolerance of Chabad and cooperation with it. Many people “ignore” Chabad, she said; they are jealous of Chabad’s financial resources and resentful of Chabad emphasis on Jewish law (halakha) in managing its activities.
Jewish Community Centers
12. The development of Jewish community centers in the post-Soviet states began several years after the opening of synagogues in the early 1990’s. In part, the launching of JCC’s may be seen as a logical step in the building of Jewish communities. However, the eagerness of international Jewish organizations to introduce community centers also reflects a measure of desperation on the part of these organizations to attract post-Soviet Jews to some level of Jewish activity in the face of failure by existing Jewish institutions, i.e., Orthodox synagogues, to appeal to more than a very small minority of Jews in the successor states.
The largest Jewish community center in Moscow is the seven-story Chabad facility at Marina Roscha in the north central part of the city. Completed in 2001, the building includes a large prayer hall convertible to other uses, meat and dairy restaurants, a theater, sports hall and weight room, library and computer center, multiple class and activity rooms, offices, and a book and gift shop.
An artist’s rendering of the Chabad JCC at Marina Roscha is seen at right. Although the facility is large, significant potential activity space is consumed by a sizeable central atrium.
Visitors entering the Marina Roscha center are immediately subjected to a security check similar to that in American airports. Personal belongings pass through an x-ray machine and uniformed security guards may pass an electronic wand over the visitor’s body.36 Members of the JCC have electronic membership cards that permit a central desk attendant to record their attendance and use of specific facilities. Membership is free, although fees are charged for some special programs. One need not be halakhically Jewish to join.
The lobby is spacious and corporate in appearance. Toward the back of the lobby is a large prayer hall that can be converted into use for community gatherings. Meat and dairy restaurants also are located on the ground floor. A large staircase dominates the center of the lobby, extending upward several floors. Two elevators are available for those who do not care to use the stairs, and the lobby also contains two attended coatrooms and rest-rooms. The facility is well-maintained; a maintenance worker with a mop worked diligently, clearing the floor of snow tracked in by visitors.
The photo at left, taken from the women’s balcony, shows the large Marina Roscha prayer hall. The pews and bima are on casters and can be moved to accommodate other types of gatherings.
A program book37 lists an extensive schedule of activities. The Jewish tradition program includes a kollel for men over 40, a Beit Talmud (different levels of instruction, an evening yeshiva, seminars, programs for women), and a Sunday school for children. Foreign-language instruction is offered in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, German, French, and Spanish. Computer studies include a basic course, graphics, and web design; computers also are available for Internet use. A variety of special interest clubs and art classes (such as drawing, ceramics, photography, and drama) are shown in the program book. Sports and fitness classes are available. Activities for children include English and Hebrew classes, art, music, computers (for youngsters age 12-15), drama, and a modest sports program. Preparatory classes for university entrance exams also are offered.38 Psychological consultations are available for both children and adults. In addition to the activities in the standard schedule, the Marina Roscha center also sponsors special lectures and performances of various types.
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The top photo shows the Marina Roscha library. Computer facilities for instructional and Internet use are located on each side of the circulation desk.
The young women in the center photo are students at Machon Chamesh. They came into the JCC on Sunday morning to prepare birthday cards for mailing to those Moscow Jews whose birthdays are known to Chabad. Recipients are invited to celebrate their birthdays with family and friends at one of the JCC restaurants; they receive a discount on restaurant prices equivalent to their age, i.e., a 50-year old celebrant would receive a 50 percent discount. One centenarian received free meals for his entire party. Tables must be reserved in advance.
The sports hall and weight room were occupied on Sunday morning by men (most of whom are middle-aged and older) playing table tennis and using fitness apparatus. The gym has folding bleachers along one wall.
According to Chabad, 1,000 people use the building on Sundays and 12,000 during the course of a month. Seven different seders are accommodated in the building simultaneously.39
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The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee operates a center known in JDC’s own documents as both a Jewish cultural center and a Jewish community center.40 The building is commonly referred to as Nikitskaya, reflecting its location on Great Nikitskaya Street in one of Moscow’s better neighborhoods. The Nikitskaya facility is small (1400 square meters), multistoried, and well-maintained. With no elevators, it is effectively inaccessible to handicapped and frail elderly individuals; nonetheless, it enjoys a good reputation among the Moscow Jewish intelligentsia.
Activities are offered seven days each week, with Monday as a light day. The program is dominated by a wide variety of children’s and adult classes and studio groups in art, music, dance, drama, and photography. Computer animation, chess, and table tennis also are offered, as are psychological and legal consultations. These activities are held in a number of small rooms and a 150-seat theater. Nikitskaya also sponsors ten to 15 concerts, lectures, drama presentations, and similar events each month.
Nikitskaya’s Jewish activities include family celebrations of most Jewish holidays, Hebrew classes, and a Dvar Torah seminar on Thursday evenings in which prominent Jewish cultural figures present their interpretations of the weekly Torah portion. An adult drama group under professional leadership develops contemporary renditions of traditional Bible stories, and the Progressive Judaism Netzer youth group meets in the facility three evenings each week. Additionally, younger specialists in Jewish academic studies participate in seminars throughout the day on Sundays. The Center operates a full schedule of activities on Friday evenings and Saturdays.
According to Sam Amiel, Deputy Director of the JDC Moscow office, the target population of Nikitskaya is the Jewish intelligentsia and their families. A fee-for-service system is being implemented without major problems. Most participants can pay for the activities in which they participate, stated Mr. Amiel.
In general, the program at Nikitskaya is far more sophisticated than that at the Chabad Marina Roscha JCC. Mr. Amiel said that the studio groups alone attract 1,000 people each week.41 Strangely, the facility appeared seriously underused and quiet during the writer’s visit in mid-afternoon on a Sunday.
Nikitskaya is closed during the summer months, reopening after the Tishrei holidays. JDC also subsidizes two additional, smaller JCC’s in Moscow.
A three-room kosher restaurant called Restoran Chagal is operated privately on the ground floor of the building. The décor attempts to evoke the atmosphere of romanticized shtetl life, and paintings in the style of Marc Chagall hang on its walls.
The Jewish Agency for Israel leases space in a public cultural center on Vadkhovsky Street, where it operates a variety of programs attracting adults, young adults, adolescents, and children. As might be expected from an agency that encourages aliyah to Israel, one of the key elements of the JAFI JCC is a Hebrew-language ulpan in which 200 adults are enrolled and taught in seven different classes according to proficiency level. Some groups meet once weekly on Sundays for an extended period and others meet twice weekly for shorter evening classes.42 Some of the older adults in these classes, the ulpan director said, have children or even grandchildren in Israel whom they hope to join.
Class size of individual JAFI ulpan groups, such as the one shown at right, appear to range between 15 and 25 individuals.
Ulpan courses include class instruction in Jewish tradition and celebration of Jewish holidays. Advanced students participate in shabbatonim, accompanied by their family members.
A children’s ulpan enrolls 10 pupils between |
