Jewish Moscow Marks ‘May 9th’ Holiday as Russia Celebrates 80th Anniversary to End of War
“Today, when we look back on the events of those years, we understand that the most terrible thing about Nazism was precisely its ideology – an ideology of hatred, violence and genocide. The Nazis were very seriously convinced that they had the “right” to destroy an entire people, from infants to the elderly – to kill people simply because they were born into a certain nation. We Jews became its first victim – but it is clear that if the Nazi empire had not been defeated, the same fate could have befallen other peoples. Therefore, today we commemorate, out of gratitude to God, not only the military defeat of the Hitlerite Reich, but also the fact that the Nazi ideology has been declared illegal throughout the civilized world” – this is how the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Lazar Shlita, opened his letter of blessing to the veterans in Russia – veterans of World War II, who fought against the Nazis and won.
“Almost all of us today were born after that war. But we will always remember that we were born thanks to the soldiers of the Red Army and the allies of the anti-Hitler coalition, who gave their lives for the victory over fascism. They saved not only those who were liberated from the Nazi death camps, but also us – the descendants of the liberated, those who survived by a great miracle. We bow our heads to your achievement and to you – those who brought freedom to the world and miraculous salvation to our people. We will always remember the heroes who are no longer with us, and we will pass on the memory of the great miracles to future generations.”
This year Russia celebrated 80 years since its victory over Nazi Germany with many great events, the grandest being a huge military parade held in the Red Square.
Alongside all of these events, the Jewish community in Moscow, as well as Jewish communities in other cities of Russia – marked the national holiday in their own unique way, mainly for the Jewish war veterans, whose life was not easy.
The Jewish events were arranged and organized by the management of the “Shaarei Tzedek Jewish Chesed Center” in the “Marina Roshcha” neighborhood, and in parallel with the “Jewish Museum” headed by the President of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Russia, Rabbi Alexander Boroda. Many significant events were held, highlighting for all to see, the heroism of the hundreds of thousands of Jewish soldiers who fought fiercely against the Nazis, and the millions of Jews who were slaughtered Al Kidush Hashem by the Nazis on the soil of the former Soviet Union.
This year, the Jewish Chesed Center launched a special campaign of home visits to all veterans. The Center’s employees, along with dozens of Mesivta students, distributed unique gift sets to the veterans, enabling them to show their respect and appreciation, while also seeing firsthand that their needs at home are being met. This is in continuation to the dedicated care that they receive from the Chesed Center throughout the year.
The founder of the Jewish Chesed Center, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, personally visited veterans and expressed his gratitude to the Jewish people for their heroism during those difficult years. One of the highlights of these visits was when Mr. Isaac Wilensky, a veteran of over a hundred years old who served for four consecutive years during the war, celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. For the first time in his life, Mr. Wilensky put on tefillin, in a particularly moving occasion when he hosted the Chief Rabbi at his home and told him his fascinating and touching life story.
Photography: Levi Nazarov
