Jewish Gift to Library

TOMSK, Russia [FJC] — An event recently occurred that will make a series of Jewish books available to readers of the Tomsk Region in western Siberia – Jews and non-Jews alike. The ‘Pushkin’ Tomsk Regional Library has benefited from a gift it has received, which consists of a number of useful Jewish books. The donation took place within the framework of a forum of religious organizations active in the region, which was held on December 12 in the Tomsk Regional Library.

The Jewish community of Tomsk prepared and manned an exhibition of Jewish books and periodicals especially for this congress, which was met with enthusiasm and genuine interest. Upon the completion of the meeting, the Jewish community donated to all of these respective publications to the library. Now these valuable and resourceful Jewish books will also be available to everyone at the network of libraries administered under the ‘Pushkin’ Tomsk Regional Library who wish to access them.

The Jewish community of Tomsk has been a member of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia since 2001. Chief Rabbi of Tomsk Levi Kaminetsky serves in the region as a Chabad Lubavitch emissary. The community also benefits from the leadership of its Chairman, Yuri Lozinskiy, and the guidance of other lay leaders such as Baruch Romatskiy and Yuri Zelvenskiy.

The community gathers for Shabbat, celebrates all Jewish holidays, subscribes to Jewish newspaper and the ‘Lechaim’ magazine, arranges Jewish burials, organizes children’s participation in ‘Gan Israel’ camps organized by the FJC Russia in Omsk and Novosibirsk, as well as operating a library, Sunday school, and adult opportunities for Jewish education.