Summer Vibes: Young Rabbis Bring Jewish Life to Over 100 Communities Across Russia and Belarus

For the third consecutive year, dozens of young yeshiva students from the Tomchei Tmimim Yeshiva in Istra, near Moscow, headed by Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Moshe Lerman and Director Rabbi Moshe Weber, have embarked on a unique summer mission to more than 100 cities, towns, and regions across Russia and Belarus.

The yeshiva students, many of them future rabbis, travel in pairs and small groups — and at times in larger delegations accompanied by yeshiva staff — reaching both established Jewish communities and more remote locations where organized Jewish life is limited. Their goal is to bring a joyful, vibrant, and meaningful Jewish experience to thousands of Jews throughout the region.

During their visits, the students conduct personal home visits, encourage families to strengthen Jewish tradition in their homes, lay tefillin, affix mezuzahs, and inspire practical mitzvot such as keeping kosher and lighting Shabbat candles. They also organize community events, one-on-one Torah study sessions for all ages, classes and lectures, Shabbat meals, youth programs at EnerJew and YAHAD branches, and conduct visits to local Jewish institutions.

“It’s exciting to witness,” says the Istra campus director, Rabbi Yosef Weisberg, “the students’ enthusiasm to reach out to their brethren and bring them the warmth, light, and love of their Jewish heritage and roots. They are accepted with great appreciation and manage to have a genuine impact on thousands.”

With their youthful energy, sincerity, and dedication, the students bring a renewed sense of warmth, connection, and belonging to the Jewish communities they meet. The initiative is led and generously supported by the 770 Foundation headed by Rabbi Yehuda Davydov.