THE FIRST LAG B’OMER PARADE IN THE CIS

22 years have passed since the first Lag B’Omer parade that took place in the former Soviet Union, in Moldova, Kishinev. The organizers repeatedly asked for permission from the authorities who did not know how to respond to the request. Freedom of religion in the CIS had just gone into effect a short while earlier and it was hard to digest the reality that permission could be granted for a public religious demonstration. * 22 years later we hear about this special parade and about the abrupt expulsion that took place shortly thereafter, which left a bitter taste after a successful parade.

Somber policemen knocked at the door of the Abelsky home in Kishinev on 19 Iyar 5750/1990. When the door was opened, they presented a search warrant as well as an arrest and expulsion warrant for Zushe Abelsky, the chief rabbi’s son, and for R’ Pinchas Vishedski.

Someone dared to ask why they were being expelled from Moldova, but the answer was not forthcoming. After continued urging, they were only able to produce various excuses which they all realized were not the real reason. Rather, it was that the two of them had dared to organize a Jewish parade in the streets of Moldova, which just a short while earlier had been forbidden. Forbidden? Even worse – it had been an extremely serious crime.

It became a diplomatic incident with the leaders of the community speaking to members of the Interior Ministry of the republic. They requested that the expulsion order be rescinded but were refused.

What actually happened behind the scenes? How was that parade, which later became the model for parades in the CIS, organized? How was it that the parade was allowed, despite the opposition of the Moldovan security forces?

NO CHANCE AT ALL

It was the beginning of the 90’s and the communist regime had collapsed. The Soviet Union had broken up into fifteen independent countries including the republic of Moldova (which was previously known as the Bessarabian region).

Judaism had not flourished in the country after most of the Jews had perished in the Holocaust. Those who survived faced the challenges of dealing with the terrors of the communist government which suppressed any Jewish activity.

Difficulties abounded after the breakup of the Soviet Union, as the economic situation became unbearable. Many Jews suffered from poverty and this was on top of decades of spiritual oppression. This explains the inability of the local Jews to take any real steps towards reclaiming their religious heritage; a galus within a galus.

It was at this point in time that the Rebbe’s shluchim went to Moldova. R’ Zalman Abelsky and his wife set up shop in the capitol, Kishinev, with the Rebbe’s bracha. Immediately, they began to initiate activities to revive Jewish life. They had their work cut out for them and in addition they weren’t youngsters in their twenties.

The terrible fear which the communist government had fostered among Jews and the uncertainty about the future in the former Soviet Union generated strong resistance towards openly embracing Torah and mitzvos. There was a need to take drastic steps in order to wake up the pintele yid.

Then came Lag B’Omer, 18 Iyar. R’ Abelsky decided that the Jews of Kishinev were no different than Jews anywhere else, and Moldova, for the first in its history, would have a Lag B’Omer parade. R’ Abelsky saw this as an opportunity to instill or awaken some Jewish pride in the Jews of Moldova. To implement this plan required more than a little l’chat’chilla aribber attitude.

In those days, organizing an official public event on the streets of the city required dealing with various bureaucratic entities that hadn’t shaken off communism just yet. The chances of a parade like this taking place were negligible. Today, with twenty-two years of hindsight, when Russian Jewry has been resurrected, it is hard to understand the political situation as it was back then. However, when you hear firsthand from the organizers of the parade what happened back then, you realize how great the power of the meshaleiach is.

THE GOAL: BREAK THE ICE

There were several daring people who organized the parade: R’ Zalman Abelsky; his son Zushe who was a bachur at the time, who came to help out on behalf of Ezras Achim along with his friend, Pinchas Vishedski; R’ Zev Bitkin, a member of the Jewish community; Mr. Slava Imas, a member of the Jewish community and a contractor by profession, who together with his wife, his son Edi and daughter Lily, were devoted to organizing the parade.

It was the first parade in the CIS and the goal was to break the Russian ice. A year later, Lag B’Omer 5751, there were Lag B’Omer parades in several former Soviet cities which already had shluchim.

22 years after that parade, the ones who organized it tell us how it came to be.

R’ Zalman Abelsky: In the days leading up to Lag B’Omer, we began making preparations for the first Lag B’Omer parade in the Soviet Union. Our initial goal was to obtain official permission for a parade and we appointed R’ Zev Bitkin, a local resident, to take care of it.

R’ Zev, one of the leading lights of the community who made aliya, lives in Chevron now and leads a fully religious life. At that time, he was a member of the Jewish communal entity whose official name was, “The Society for Jewish Culture, Republic of Moldova.” It operated as a Jewish cultural organization, which did not openly identify with Torah and mitzvos. However, R’ Zev was an active partner in everything we organized at the shul.

R’ Zev Bitkin: A few days before Lag B’Omer, R’ Zalman convened the members of the community’s leadership in the shul. “All over the world they make Lag B’Omer parades,” he announced, “and we in Moldova will also have a parade!”

The announcement was one thing; reality was another. Fear of the government was still prevalent amongst us all. Despite the freedom of religion that had gone into effect, nobody knew how to handle this request, but R’ Zalman’s persistence left no room for dissent.

Right after the meeting, I went with R’ Zushe to the police station, where we met with the police commander of Kishinev. When he heard that we wanted to march in the street with placards, he was at a complete loss. He simply did not know how to respond. Freedom of religion was something new and he could not digest the fact that he had to grant permission to a public religious demonstration.

He pushed us off with various excuses and our pressure was to no avail. We did not think we would ever get a positive answer and permission, even unofficial, from the police. As far as the police were concerned, we had to hold the Jewish event in the yard of the shul and not on the street, but R’ Zalman said the parade had to take place, come what may. We had to break the ice.

R’ Zushe Abelsky: Not only did the police chief not understand why we insisted on getting a permit to march with Jewish signs on the main street; even the Jews, members of the community, could not understand this peculiar idea. To them, it was an unimaginable sight – Jews walking in the street and publicly declaring that they are Jewish! And with police permission, no less?! That was way beyond anything they could grasp.

I saw this as a painful lesson that taught me the extent of our enemies’ impact on us. They had sought to eradicate any connection to Judaism and faith in G-d.

That is when I understood how special R’ Zev is. He too, like the others, wavered and vacillated, but he ultimately went with me to get the permit. In hindsight, his going to the police was an act of mesirus nefesh.

After we realized that the police had no intention of giving us a permit, we decided to take action, l’chat’chilla aribber. The parade would take place regardless and with Hashem’s help, all would be well.

We got busy taking care of the rest of the details that would ensure the success of the parade. We wanted all Jews to participate in the parade. We started with the inner circle, those who davened at the shul. They were informed of the details about the parade. The rest of the k’hilla received personal phone calls. We had no way of assessing people’s reaction to the announcement and did not know whether they would attend. Our preparations were done with feelings of anxiety and curiosity about what would happen on Lag B’Omer.

R’ Zalman Abelsky: Despite the short amount of time that had passed since we had arrived on shlichus in Kishinev, Yeshivas Tomchei T’mimim was already operating and there were thirty bachurim learning there at this time.

The bachurim got involved in advertising the parade. They told Jews all over the city about the big demonstration of Jewish pride that would take place on Lag B’Omer. House calls were made in order to convince the skeptics that were nervous about the idea and who thought a public display of Jewish pride was crazy.

As far as the newspapers, after a battle with them and a massive campaign to explain our goals, they finally agreed to advertise the event.

R’ Zev Bitkin still clearly remembers how R’ Zalman Abelsky gathered the bachurim and spoke to them enthusiastically about advertising the parade. They were to join in making house calls.

“I also joined in and there was another reason for that; since I was a member of the Jewish Cultural Society that was absolutely estranged from religious practice, I very much wanted to join together the various groups within the Jewish community. I wanted an event that would be attended by Jews who did not yet visit the shul.

“The gathering point for the parade was no less than the train station plaza, opposite a large and imposing hall. From there, an impressive parade left for the center of town. People were excited and the organizers were very tense. Nobody knew how the police would react and whether they would ruin the parade, disperse the participants, and maybe even arrest some of the participants – and this was not out of the question.”

The parade set out without police permits, but the police finally validated the parade, feeling compelled to do so in the face of the facts on the ground. They even helped direct traffic to accommodate the marchers.

R’ Zev: After the parade, everybody gathered for a Kinus. Our choir sang songs in Yiddish that R’ Zalman taught us and the children proclaimed the 12 Torah Passages. It was all beautiful and impressive; I can’t do it justice in words. Even when I remember it now, I am overcome with emotion.

We had taken a Jewish graphic artist (whose entire family became religious and they now live in Eretz Yisroel) by the name of Edi Imas who drew the signs beautifully in both the local language and in Hebrew. Hundreds of children held these signs as they proudly marched in the center of the capital city, Kishinev.

It was special to see the parents, who were not religious, participating in the parade. It was important to me to unite the two communal factions that were relatively close and to serve their needs to the best of my ability along with the rav of the community, R’ Abelsky.

The children and their parents regarded the parade and each portion of the event with utmost seriousness. Every detail was a “new world,” because we knew nothing. With every thing R’ Zalman taught us, we – the parents and children of Moldova – felt that we were taking another step towards realizing our Jewishness.

As the shul held program after program, our Jewish identity grew stronger.

R’ Avrohom Bitkin was a child when the parade took place and today is a member of Anash of Rechovos. He shares some of his memories:

“We gathered for the parade as is customary, but for us, this was our first time. The counselors arranged us in groups. Parents held the big signs and we marched with songs and slogans. What I remember beyond anything else was the feeling of Jewish pride that was felt in the streets for the first time.

“At the Kinus we recited the 12 P’sukim and there were prizes. My father had trained a choir and I was one of the children in the choir.

“It was a parade that made an enormous impression. I remember the parades that took place in subsequent years, but they weren’t like the first one, shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain.”

Images of that first parade are unforgettable for the chief rabbi of Moldova, R’ Abelsky, even though so many parades have taken place since then:

“The parade was especially long and we walked for two and a half hours in the center of the capitol. The goal was to awaken the latent Jewish spark hidden within many Jews who were afraid to disclose their Jewish identity.

“We passed by the shul on Chabad Lubavitch Street in the center of Kishinev and continued along the main street until the train station. From there we marched to a large hall for the Tzivos Hashem assembly. Wherever we passed, people stopped to watch the unusual and beautiful sight.

“After the parade, we had a big farbrengen in the shul for hundreds of people who came to rejoice in Rashbi’s simcha. They heard about Lag B’Omer for the first time in their lives and about the Rebbe who is concerned about every single Jew.

“After the parade, people in the city knew us; the Chabad Chassidim who are hard at work in their city, and this had an ongoing impact. On Sukkos we made a large sukka on the main street; for Chanukah we set up a beautiful menorah on the main street; and a year later we held another big parade.

“After the first parade, I wrote a detailed report to the Rebbe and the answer we received through the secretaries was: Your letter was received and many thanks, many thanks. To increase in activities etc.”

EXPULSION

The authorities did not know, at first, how to respond to the illegal parade. After many meetings with senior officials, they decided to expel the two young rabbis, R’ Zushe and R’ Pinchas, both of whom were foreign residents. Their excuse was they had not been allowed to sleep in a private home and were supposed to stay in a hotel since they were tourists. This was quite ridiculous and the real reason was apparent to all.

R’ Zushe remembers what happened:

“The day after the parade, they arrested me and Pinchas Vishedski (today the shliach to Donetsk in the Ukraine), who came before the parade in order to help. The police chief informed us that we had to leave the country immediately. When we inquired as to the reason, they pushed us off with various excuses, but it was clear that the real reason was the parade.

“We used our connections within the Jewish leadership and they went to the Interior Ministry of the republic, but to no avail. Their decision was final.

“Our expulsion left a bitter taste after such a successful parade, which definitely broke through the communist mentality and proved that Jews could and should walk proudly as Jews in the street. This created an opening for the continuation of activities throughout the country and the capitol city.”

R’ Zev concludes:

“Until today, I have in my home in Chevron a few pictures of that incredible parade.”

BOX:

Mrs. Sylvia Imas (nee Gorbach) relates:

Throughout the years we kept our Jewishness secret like the rest of the Jews in the Soviet Union. We did not tell anyone about our being Jewish. We observed holidays with great difficulty and this too was done in such a way that nobody knew or heard about it. We were terribly afraid of being sent to Siberia. We always remembered and knew that we are Jews. I am actually a descendent of a distinguished family of rabbanim. The rest of my family perished in the Holocaust.

When our son Edi was born, we knew he had to be circumcised but there was nobody to do it. The truth is we were very afraid of being punished. My sister brought me a Siddur. I don’t know where she had it from. We put it under the baby’s crib. At least we were doing something instead of a bris.

Then came R’ Zalman and Rebbetzin Leah. Jewish identity and mitzva observance became part of our daily routine. We, like our other Jewish friends, slowly began to join together and we became regular visitors to the shul. As soon as R’ Zalman arrived, he announced that a bris would be done for whoever wanted it. He said that a mohel would be arriving soon, for the first time in thirty years.

We were thrilled. We could finally circumcise our dear son as the Torah commands. We helped R’ Zalman with everything he and his wife needed. We helped organize Shabbos meals, Pesach, and of course, the Lag B’Omer parade. A parade in Kishinev was no simple matter. Even if Jews were willing to attend a Shabbos meal or come to a Seder, going out into the street for a public display of one’s Judaism was another matter entirely! But we heard him out and got to work.

Before the parade, my husband bought the material needed for signs and together with my son Edi and my daughter Lily, they drew the signs according to R’ Zalman’s instructions.

We all gathered in the center of town and marched on the main street. The children led the way and we parents tagged along to keep an eye on them. We were afraid that something bad would happen to them. Nobody knew how the government would react to children marching in the street holding signs in a foreign language.

R’ Zalman and his wife literally breathed life into us throughout our journey until we made aliya. Until today, we are in constant touch with this wonderful family, with their children and grandchildren in Eretz Yisroel, and we attend one another’s simchas.