The Founding of Chamah

I had always nurtured a burning desire to be involved in this sort of activism, and I readily accepted the invitation.

The organization’s goal was two-fold: to spread the light of Torah and the teachings of Chassidus, as well as to provide financial assistance for Jews in distress.

Secret Communication with the Rebbe

From the time the organization was founded and on, we searched for ways to inform the Rebbe about our work, but this proved to be difficult. Reporting about our activities in writing was too dangerous, and for a while we were unsuccessful in sending out any information.

The KGB Inquire

As much as we tried to maintain secrecy in all of our work, especially in regards to the farbrengens we arranged, there were times that we were lax...

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Samarkand »

By Hillel Zaltzman

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"Samarkand" tells the story of the Chassidic underground that operated in the Soviet Union, upholding Judaism during the rule of communist terror. Gripping narrative sweeps the reader to distant lands, and paints a picture of mysterious figures in Samarkand's alleys, secret Torah study under the constant threat of arrest by the KGB, and the long and hard fought victory in inspiring Jewish renaissance throughout the Soviet Union.

In this Book