Putin Wishes Russian Jewry Happy New Year
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday issued Rosh Hashanah greetings to the Jewish community in Russia and worldwide at a meeting with Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar.
“I congratulate you on the occasion of the Jewish New Year,” Putin wrote. “This is an ancient festival and especially revered by Jews all over the world. It symbolizes spiritual integrity and self- progress, and the evaluating observance of religious tradition, based on the love of creatures, charity and helping the needy.”
“Russian Jews have always excelled in working towards peace and tolerance for other religions and peoples, seeing that the most important and sublime values such as good neighborliness, mutual trust and understanding,” the Russian President wrote in the letter, that will be read aloud in all synagogues on the first night of Rosh Hashanah.
“I am sure that the Jewish community will continue making a significant contribution to strengthening the consensus among all peoples and religions in Russia and deepening the ancient friendship of the people,” Putin concluded. “From the bottom of my heart, I wish the Jews in Russia a happy New Year and good health.”
Yisroel
My father, o.h. told me that when he was a boy living in the town of Ruzhin in the Ukraine, one time, as he was walking home from shul on Rosh Hashanah, a Russian Orthodox galach came towards him, and greeted him in all seriousness with the phrase: “Pozdravlayu c’Novom Godom” – “I wish you with a Happy New Year.” Occasionally there can be chassidei umas ho-olam. With Putin however, we have to be sure that his name does not really starts with the letters “Ras.”