Russian immigrants

There are more than six billion people living on this planet, and most of them have their own opinions about G‑d. They also have a story behind their opinion…

One night, as I come home from school, I open the front door and hear strange noises coming from the living room, a mixture of radio static and a voice speaking in a foreign language...

From Tsarist times through Communism to the modern era, Russia’s Jews have seen it all and not only survived but thrived.

Growing up in the Soviet Jewish underground in the 1960s, Baruch Lepkivker would often hear his father, Yaakov, sing a single refrain from a particular Chassidic melody. It was just a movement, what’s referred to as a tenuah, a piece of a much longer nigg...

As far as Jewish communities go, Boston has a certain vibe. Its members tend to be well-educated, genteel and perhaps a bit more cautious about standing out as Jews. In the face of it all, Rabbi Moshe Gurkow, who passed away on Friday, 30th of Tishrei, No...

I remember the day in September of 1989 when I walked out of my home in Saratov into the unknown future.

Every single event, factor and statistical analysis with absolute certainty would predict my future to be the exact opposite of what it is today.

No one knows how we’ve been able to survive for 2,000 years, scattered among the nations of the world. Yet today there is an undeniable connection between the Jewish people, regardless of their language, background or social status. What kept us together,...

Rabbi Eliezer Nisilevitch recalls the dangers his family faced in the Soviet Union as members of the Jewish underground, and the strength and direction they received from the Rebbe even after they had succeeded in emigrating to Israel. (1971)

We are getting ready for the New Year at school. There is a huge Christmas tree in the auditorium, decorated with balls and garlands. During the day we practice for the end-of-year concert, where I play a “snowflake”—just like all the other Russian girls....