The Possible Dream
TELLER, HANOCH
THE POSSIBLE DREAM How often does Moscow celebrate the founding of ayeshiva? Take a ] minim thai divided litirojicaii Jewry J50 years ago, add a daring first l<it jH-Ttstroika. stir in Italian...
...He noted that the Soviet authorities, regardless of their efforts, were simply unable to arrest the Jews' interest in their ancestry...
...Fifteen other men take the same courses but attend part time, from 630 p.m.-&15 p.m, Sunday through Thursday...
...To help launch the project, the Italian foreign minister was prepared to guarantee the support and financial assistance of the World Laboratory, a Rome-based scientific organization...
...Jewish communal and religious life, he knew, had flourished in Russia prior to the revolution...
...In a state that is officially atheistic, the leaching of religious precepts has routinely been rewarded with all-cxpense-paid vacations to the Gulag, Many wondered: Would glasnost extend 10 teaching religion as well...
...The Psalmist also says, 'Had not Your Torah been my delight, I should have perished in my affliction' " (Psalms 119:92...
...Steinsaltz made his move...
...Highly unlikely...
...Thus, with millions of Soviet Jews thoroughly alienated from their heritage and the number of competent teachers diminishing rapidly, it was clear that a bold and dynamic step had to be taken...
...Thus you parade various clerics for the benefit of dignitaries and the media...
...To the perspicacious observer and genius of political science, the opportunity and gamble of the century could be dimly discerned...
...More than half of the students in these evening coed classes are women...
...All around the globe, little-known peoples—Kurds, Hmongs, Tamils, Karens, Sham—have gone to war to ensure that which is permitted, and in many cases have been expunged in the process...
...Academy of World Civilizations— was declared official...
...David Berger...
...In moments, he'd grasped the numerous potential advantages of such an academy and the opportunities it would present for public relations, diplomacy, access to western technology and software, chairs and professorships from abroad, and revenue—the possibilities were endless...
...Thus, in the cavernous hall of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, heralded by rafter-reaching speeches by foreign dignitaries, and followed by a cocktail party with generous helpings of vodka and caviar, the Moscow yeshiva—a.k.a...
...Andreotti was scheduled to meet that very afternoon with Gorbachev, and he used the opportunity to request that the General Secretary give serious consideration to Steinsaltz's suggestion regarding the opening Yesterday's Underground Teachers Are Today's Star Pupils at the Moscow Yeshiva Vladimir Dashevsky of Moscow and Vladimir Raiz of Vilna are refuseniks with a long history of harassment by Soviet authorities for teaching Hebrew and Judaism in the Soviet Hebrew-teaching underground...
...more important to her than retaining her family's unity, she sought to emulate Rachel, the wife of Rabbi Akiva, who encouraged and supported her husband's Torah study...
...It has recently been notified that funds will be forthcoming from the Joint Distribute Committee, the first outside organization to support the yeshiva...
...Most of the yeshiva students have advanced graduate training in some field-usually in the sciences—and have either tried to study Torah in addition to what they were doing, or have given up what they were doing to devote full-time to Torah," Berger said, The level of their learning is different from anything you have in the United States" It is as if each student has read only one Jewish book—but knows that book thoroughly—rather than having an overview of Judaism as do people who have studied and practiced it over a lifetime, Berger explained He cited the example of the Soviet Jew who knows how to read the Talmud by himself in the original Hebrew and Aramaic, but would not know what to do if called to the Torah in a synagogue More advanced than the other students because of Jewish study during their long years of refusal, Dashevsky and Raiz have been designated as tutors Everyone connected with the yeshiva emphasizes the dedication of its students...
...One candidate, a 22-year-old Ukrainian, told the committee that he had discovered his Jewish origin only one month before, when he became a victim of an anti-Semitic attack...
...After all, how often does Moscow celebrate the founding of & yeshiva...
...This revelation impelled him to research the reason behind the hostility...
...Obviously, the need for a solution doesn't create one...
...Every student underwent an interview by a committee comprised of Steinsaltz, Rabinowitz, academy director Rabbi Yechiel Poupko and history instructor Dr...
...if it failed, only Steinsaltz would be blamed...
...Theiv ihcy would loc ale their contacts, unload their luggage, and lecture at private meetings ol the members of the i'shuvah (newly religious) underground...
...Key activists of the underground and their students have recently been granted permission to emigrate and several have reached the land of Israel...
...The idea of an Israeli cleric proposing a policy plan to the Soviets was preposterous...
...What haven't you done to try and revitalize the spirit...
...Considering the risks involved, however, the number of souls that have actually been reached by emissaries, relative to the number that could be reached, is pathetically small...
...Following his meeting with Valenkhov, Steinsaltz embarked on a seed trip to the Soviet Union to plant the yeshiva idea...
...During more than a decade of refusal (12 years for Dashevsky, 17 for Raiz), they relied on a few books smuggled in from the West to advance their own Jewish educations...
...Thus the Academy of World Civilizations was born, a rather august name to describe a small apartment where lyro yeshiva students are introduced to the Talmud...
...It is reasonable to assume that like Valenkhov and the Politburo, the Church saw an opportunity for gain...
...What exactly was transpiring in the prestigious Soviet Academy of Sciences...
...Now we have a rare opportunity," he asserted...
...His newfound friendship with Comrade Valenkhov presented him the opportunity to put forth what he termed a "pragmatic" idea...
...A teacher from Leningrad, who had left his wife and little children behind, asked to be admitted to the yeshiva...
...George Orwell could not have expressed it better...
...He is also a liberal, and, of special interest to Steinsaltz, a gentile...
...At this televised event Steinsaltz lamented the tarnished glory of the Jews of Russia, the homeland of many of our ancestors...
...Establishing something as ideologically sensitive as a religious institution would require official certification from the Kremlin...
...In a deliciously ambiguous statement, pregnant with meaning and ripe for interpretation, Gorbachev asserted that "everything is permitted except that which is not allowed...
...From the podium of the Academy of Sciences, Rabinowitz delivered a brilliant lecture on the opening mishnah that the yeshiva students learned...
...But how could they deny him when he assured them that he had his wife's wholehearted blessing...
...He thought "Academy of World Civilizations" had a nice ring to it—and just might bring in the revenue, promotional capital, prestige, technological assistance and publicity that would do the Kremlin proud...
...Berger feels that it may not be feasible to bring a permanent foreign staff into the Soviet Union...
...There are 32 full-time students and about 100 part-time students enrolled in the nascent academy, and every one of them has his or her own story to tell...
...The goal of this, after all...
...Andreotti was impressed, and swiftly concluded that if the rabbi wanted a yeshiva, it was in the world's best interest that he get his school...
...The first problem was finding a name for this new entity...
...The student body hails from the length and breadth of the Soviet Union, some of them having trekked for days (many others for decades) to slake their spiritual thirst...
...Yes," the boy responded softly...
...Even the full-time students are too far behind in their Jewish education to become rabbis in the near future, according to Berger...
...Few among his listeners could conceive of a more appropriate subject for an event characterized by doublespeak...
...The yeshiva^ teachers are rabbis from the United States and Israel, many of whom are college professors...
...But alas, teaching Judaism falls into the category of human rights, an area not noticeably high on the Supreme Soviet agenda...
...And lime was of the essence...
...assuring them that it was in their own interest, even more so...
...The foreign media was a bit confounded by the afternoon's proceeding...
...They feel free to stop by as they would at a friend's apartment, said Berger...
...Bui tiow ran line ti.ii h I'niati In the heritagc-'-iarved Jews ofSoviet Russia.' To dale, the method most widely employed has been to smuggle Torah literature into the USSR via an underground pipeline...
...Their discussion wandered from the need to establish a. yeshiva in the Soviet Union to the political arena, and Steinsaltz provided His Excellency with his personal assessment of future trends in Soviet policy...
...The Jews continue to study clandestinely, and despise the government for forbidding any spiritual pursuits," Steinsaltz pointed out...
...thus continuing the formerly secret mission of Soviet Jews to learn Judaism and educate others Several teach in the unofficial Sunday schools that have grown up in Moscow during the past decade Accessible by subway, the yeshiva is seen by many Moscow Jews as a place to gather as a community...
...Overcome with emotion, the faculty members could but nod their acceptance of the student...
...You are even attempting to build a bridge between communism and religion...
...And towards this vital aim he relentlessly persevered...
...More about that later...
...From the moment he arrived he began seeking out every friend, contact, comrade or colleague who might help him gain entry to the Italian ambassador to the USSR, a man known to have powerful diplomatic connections...
...Perhaps the most moving story was that of the student who came from a little village where Judaism has been all but forgotten for more than seven decades...
...The following day, in the very same hall, at a smaller inauguration, Steinsaltz addressed diplomats from Italy, Canada and the U.S., as well as several rabbis...
...Now there's a nifty nine-letter package full of surprises...
...The last thing that concerned Steinsaltz was what the yeshiva might be called or how the Soviets would choose to refer to it...
...The committee was reluctant to consider his application in light of the hardships his separation from his family would inevitably cause...
...A government that has "Museums of Atheism" in every major city cannot simply about-face and support the establishment of a theological seminary...
...Gorbachev pondered the idea for a moment...
...At the dais were seated Valenkhov, other scientific notables, the American, Canadian and Italian ambassadors, a prelate of the Russian Orthodox Church and Steinsaltz...
...As it happened, the subject of a dialogue between religion and communism was one that was dear to Valenkhov's heart...
...The most appealing aspect of this venture was that there was nothing overtly "political" about it, except for the mileage to be gained...
...Perhaps there was a way to package the yeshiva as an academic endeavor of universal scope, obfuscating the true nature of the institution...
...Steinsaltz asked...
...In truth, even an expert in Soviet disinformation would not have been able to vas bank account...
...We can turn back the clock...
...Gorbachev had been even less subtle...
...stir in Italian intrigue in response to a brilliant rabhi's politicking, and you gel . . . the first \nkim to open its doocs on Russian soil since the Bolshevik revolution in 19)7...
...Since it opened on February 22,1989, the yeshiva has moved from a crowded Moscow apartment to a new glass-and-stone building formerly a hotel, on eight acres of wooded land in the suburban Kuntsevo section of Moscow, on Zvenigo-rotskaya street There are three large rooms for lectures, a generous-sized kitchen and six rooms used as living quarters for the staff, the equivalent of a group of hotel rooms...
...A few months ago when the crimes of Lenin were still enjoying a whitewash, the Politburo was called into session to deal with a global emergency: Two whales were trapped by ice in the Bering Straits and humanitarian relief was desperately needed...
...Yeshiva students are encouraged to teach other Jews and many do...
...There were only three teachers when I was there and we worked very hard from morning to night," said Rabbi David Berger, professor of Jewish history at Brooklyn College and the Graduate School of the City University of New York...
...Steinsaltz concluded by observing that the Soviets had been attempting recently to portray their country as a tolerant host to all religions...
...It is still not legal to teach children religion," While for a time the yeshiva% supply of books was limited, book shipments have arrived from both the United States and Israel...
...That the archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church greeted the assembled, endowed the convocation with an aura of ecumenism...
...For the first time, Steinsaltz accepted an invitation to address the annual Oxford gathering of the Global Conference of Theologians and Scientists, but only on condition that he be assured an audience with Professor Evgeny Valenkhov, the head of the Soviet Academy of Sciences...
...Many of these students, while interested in Judaism, are not committed to practicing it In addition, ten women—mainly housewives in their 30s and 40s, a few of whom plan to become teachers—study the prophets and Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) during the day, three days a week, in classes taught in Hebrew with Russian translation by their fellow students...
...Because no governments were involved, no diplomatic hurdles would have to be traversed...
...Dashevsky also said that the supply of kosher food is not yet plentiful and kosher meat is difficult to get The Aleph Society, Steinsaltz's f undrais-ing arm in the United States, is the yeshiof an institute for Jewish study...
...the sum of S3 million was allocated from Soviet cofTcrs to extricate the hapless cetaceans...
...Not for a moment did the champions of animal rights hesitate...
...The idea had come from a private individual...
...the Academy of World Civilizations would be the vanguard for a Russian Orthodox theological seminary...
...Steinsaltz hoped that, if he'd lay the groundwork properly, he might succeed in interesting Valenkhov in his scheme...
...However, after His Grace graced the Academy's inauguration with words of praise, he can hardly recant...
...Items such as tallitot, kippot, and haggadotare brought in by friends from the West and from Israel, Vladimir Dashevsky told moment from Moscow...
...They study Torah, Talmud and codes of Jewish law Sunday through Friday, Maimonides twice a week and the book of Samuel on Friday mornings...
...When asked why he wanted to attend the yeshiva he astounded the faculty members by quoting from King David, "O how I love Your Torah...
...Now they are enrolled in the Judaic section of the Academy of World Civilizations, unofficially known as the new Moscow yeshiva...
...The guest speaker, Smithsonian physicist Paul Forman, flown in for the occasion, delivered a riveting lecture on a most fitting topic: the heterogeneity of pure and applied science...
...Through an especially bright ray of Divine Providence—which seemed to shine upon this endeavor from the very outset—Steinsaltz was able to meet not with the Italian ambassador, but with the Italian foreign minister himself, Giulio Andreotti, who happened to be in Moscow at the time...
...Its leader, the rosh yeshiva, is Rabbi Gedaliah Rabinowitz, an American who had opened a kollel (advanced yeshiva) in Jerusalem, but now has made a commitment to stay in Moscow for two years...
...Permitted...
...Nonetheless, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's pronouncements on the subject have been encouraging...
...So far there has been no interference with Steinsaltz's decisions, although there have been some bureaucratic delays...
...who estimates that the best of them might make it in three or four years...
...The important thing, the sole issue from his perspective, was the renaissance of Jewish learning in the Soviet Union...
...Andreotti was enchanted by the rabbi, and also taken by the man's "clairvoyance...
...The JDC will be underwriting a large portion of the yes/was budget Besides paying operating costs, the budget provides full-time students with a stipend...
...And yet . . . and yet...
...Valenkhov was entrusted \*ith the task of window-dressing, and he jumped at the opportunity...
...Valenkhov was well aware that there were Soviet realities that constituted an unbridgeable gap between theory and practice...
...Many rabbis [in Israel and the United States] have families at home...
...Rabbi Gedalia Rabinowitz, illustrious scholar and yeshiva dean in Jerusalem's Old City, will serve as the Academy's headmaster...
...The Kremlin, however, is anything but predictable...
...It is no secret that the Church, nurtured for centuries on Slavic soil, has been and probably still is rabidly anti-Semitic...
...Needless to say, it would have to be packaged and labeled properly for the Politburo to buy it...
...Dashevsky and Raiz are among the 32 full-time students at the yeshiva, all of whom are male, mostly in their 20s and 30s...
...Since the Soviets had done such an exemplary job of eradicating the "opiate of ihe masses," why should the Kremlin tolerate the return of even a handful of religion addicts...
...Learned couriers limit the West, heavily laden with religions articles and kosher l<md supplies would |M)se as tourists and sightsee in Russian cities ol significant Jewish populations...
...is to try to re-establish teaching of Jewish learning m Russia that will be able to be self-sustaining, to create a situation where in another ten years or maybe less than that, they won't have to import teachers That is a dream, but it may be possible" grasp that the festivities were marking the opening of the Soviet Union's first yeshiva...
...You want Russians to excel in sports, music, drama, academics, industry, the arts— everything...
...Do you have any other reasons...
...That Valenkhov is a gentile was an obvious advantage...
...It is still not a wonderful place to live as a Jew...
...The official agreement between the yeshiva and the Soviet government gives Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz of Israel, who founded the yeshiva, the exclusive right to determine the staff, students and curriculum...
...All that, however, was theoretical...
...A feeling of camaraderie quickly developed between the two men, who discovered, oddly enough, that they had quite a lot in common: Before devoting his energies to Torah study, Steinsaltz had likewise been a physicist...
...Aside from this traditional yeshiva curriculum, 70 to 80 students take courses in Jewish history, basic Judaism or Torah three evenings a week, taught in English and translated into Russian by their fellow students...
...Classes often run until 1 am The students would study tor 20 hours a day if the teachers could stay awake that late," says a member of Steinsaltz's staff...
...Invitations to the February 1989 inauguration of the Academy were sent to elite Soviet scientists, academicians from abroad, and the world media...
...Ironically, the difficulty has been compounded by the advent of glasnost...
...he could not be accused of pursuing his own parochial interests...
...said Berger...
...There have never been more than five teachers there at one time...
...Steinsaltz's interest in Valenkhov was not academic, although the Russian's academic achievements are impressive indeed...
...Moment was told that Steinsaltz has been repeatedly assured by members of the Soviet government that they want a genuine Jewish leadership to develop...
...If the project succeeded, everyone, especially the Academy of Sciences, would be able to take credit...
...The rabbis you have been showcasing for the past four decades are an embarrassment both to your people and my people...
...Renowned talmudie scholar and author Rabbi Adin Steinsall/ has long sought to personally teach those students who stand to gain the most Prom his works...
...The concept appealed to Valenkhov's scientific mind...
...said Steinsaltz, "to your way of thinking, the world's foremost microbiologist, violinist, ballerina, and weightlifter should be a Russian, why should not the world's most outstanding rabbinic scholars be from Russia, the host of world Jewry's third largest population...
...Once again Russian Jews will study en masse in a.yeshiva...
...Let the Russian government establish an academy for Judaic research," guest lecturer Steinsaltz proposed, "and it will be good for you...
...It is my meditation all the day" (Psalms 119:97...
...nothing could better fit the parameters of pereslmika than the opening of a Jewish academy of study that would pave the way for the revival of that rich culture...
...He told the gathering of his special connection to the event: In the wake of a dispute over the Slavita Shas (a Talmud printed in the city of Slavita), which tore European Jewry asunder 150 years ago, Rabinowitz's greatgrandfather's great-grandfather relocated to Moscow, where he established the city's first beil midrash (house of study...
...The courier method has achieved remarkable results...
...Why not simply sanction religious study, and thereby eliminate the resentment...
...And with glasnost daily rocking the Communist boat on major issues, the chances of the Presidium extending themselves on a trivial one such as this seemed slim...
...The foremost Soviet nuclear physicist, Valenkhov has authored numerous scholarly works and is considered to be at the crest of Soviet intellectual echelons...
...Of course, as all the insiders would concur, the smoke screen was a blessing...
...Steinsaltz asked...
...Valenkhov found Steinsaltz's reasoning compelling...
...Aware of the absence of Jewish education in this boy's background, the committee had cause to doubt his genuineness...
...That shouldn't be too hard for the Soviet window-dressing boys to design...
...Furthermore, Steinsaltz pressed on, the Politburo had all but admitted that communism was not burgeoning...
...Focusing primarily on the nuclei of clandestine study groups, the couriers would impart lessons that were later disseminated and re-disseminated, to, ultimately, vast numbers of individuals...
...In a recent speech he declared that every home should have a Bible, and in his book Perestroika he wrote that a "government without morals cannot be...
Vol. 14 • October 1989 • No. 6
