Moscow Warming Up On The Inside In Preparation For Sukkos

A few hours before the start of the first days of Yom Tov, under particularly cold and snowy weather conditions, Photographer Levi Nazarov captured the preparations in the large sukka of the Central Shul in Moscow’s Marina Roscha neighborhood where the Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar resides.

In order to accommodate the public in a dignified manner, the meals are held in a number of large Sukkots in the courtyard of the synagogue and in the nearby institutions and the meals are served free of charge. This year, additional efforts were made to heat the Sukkas, due to the cold weather that Moscow is already experiencing.

Throughout the entire yom tov, beginning from early in the morning and until after midnight, anyone can come and receive plentiful food and drink served by one of the volunteers whom the Gabbaim  appointed. There are also many sets of the arba minim so that people can fulfill the mitzva.

Minyanim and Torah classes will be held in the main shul, as well as in the many shuls and Chabad Houses throughout the capital who are also preparing for their Simchas Bais HaShoeva celebration. This year the Chief Rabbi requested that the events be in blessed memory of the victims who were brutally murdered in our Holy Land last year and in the merit of our brothers and sisters who are still in captivity.

As Shabbos ended, after three spiritually uplifting days, the good news arrived that the arch murderer Sinwar yimach shmo, was eliminated. After havdala, the Chief Rabbi handed out hamantashen to the many guests in the sukka, and the crowd broke out in joyful dancing, which continued on the neighboring streets- as is customary every night of Sukkos.

Photography: Levi Nazarov