Soviet Labor Camps

A first-hand account of a refusenik's battle to practice Judaism in Soviet Russia. An incredible story of resilience and defiance.

It was necessary to get people that could be relied upon to keep a secret. Within half an hour, the room held nine men. Only one was missing, a tenth man for the minyan. What did the rabbi do?

"Very well," sneered the commandant. "Don't sign. You will be in this prison for eight more years. And we'll see how your G‑d will help you…"

Spies, cold-hearted agents, and daring escapes fill the pages of this engrossing memoir about the chasid Rabbi DovBer Levertov, known as Berel Kabilaker, and his family's life under Communist rule.

In 1951 my father, Rabbi Moshe Greenberg, was twenty years old and a prisoner in a Soviet labor camp in Siberia. That Yom Kippur, he faithfully prayed all the day’s prayers. All, that is, except for Kol Nidrei.

To my right sat my friend Berl, and to my left my friend Zalman. Yossel sat in front of me. The melamed was tall, with stern eyes, but with a warm and loving smile.

"It's Chanukah," cried Nachman, "the festival of miracles! We'll do the mitzvah the way it should be done. Not in some rusty can fished out from the garbage..."

Listen to an amazing story about two Jews exiled in a labor camp in Siberia, who had Mesiras Nefesh (self sacrifice) for Shabbos and for Ahavas Yisroel—exemplifying true Shalom!

As the Siberian winter deepened, Chanukah came, and a group of young Jewish prisoners convened for a short meeting.

This book tells the story of the Chassidic underground that operated in the Soviet Union, upholding Judaism during the rule of communist terror. Gripping narrative sweep the reader to distant lands, and paints a picture of mysterious figures in Samarkand'...