New Kosher Restaurant Opens in Russia

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia [FJC] — On April 12 in Nizhny Novgorod, the banquet hall of the Synagogue was filled with joy and vibrancy, as Jews gathered to celebrate – eating, singing and dancing. More than 90 people came out to mark the grand opening of the “Shalom in Gruzinskaya” kosher restaurant, the inauguration of which was well-timed to coincide with the Passover holiday.

The next day, more than fifty guests and honorary members of the local Jewish community returned to visit the restaurant. Among them were the trustees and patrons of the community, including Mark Feldman, Boris Sherman, Boris Rabin, Dmitry Birman, along with others.

The opening address was given by Rabbi Shimon Bergman, who is the Chief Rabbi of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Volga Federal District, as well as a Chabad Lubavitch emissary. In his speech, he called upon participants in the gathering “to not expect miracles to appear out of nowhere and but to create them by helping people who are in need”. Afterwards, he handed the microphone to the Chairman of the local Jewish community, Eduard Chaprak, who subsequently spoke about the work being done to reconstruct the Synagogues.

According to the manager of the restaurant and Gregory Shteiman, “these two days presented an incredible opening, and while the restaurant is only being used as a hall for parties and banquets at the moment, the beginning of the kosher restaurant’s regular day-to-day functioning is not far away”.

The Jewish community of Nizhny Novgorod is a leading member of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.