|
|
September 26, 2003
The first New Year in Vorkuta
The Jewish community is only now learning about their Jewish heritage.
ROBERT SOCOLOF SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Komi Republic
For many years, Jews in the former gulag prison camp of Vorkuta
marked the time in suffering. This year, for the first time, they
will turn to the Jewish calendar and celebrate their first Rosh
Hashanah.
Discovered in August 2002, the Jewish community in this city of
200,000 on the barren, frozen plains north of the artic circle is
only now learning about their Jewish heritage and how to celebrate
major holidays. This cultural journey began when representatives
of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) arrived
to reach out to those Jews who still knew they were Jewish.
Situated in the bleak artic tundra, the ground in Vorkuta is permanently
frozen and so no trees can grow there. The many graves on the outskirts
of town rise above ground, as it is impossible to dig a conventional
grave.
The Jews of Vorkuta are mostly the children of Jewish intelligentsia
sent to the gulag decades ago by Josef Stalin. When the state closed
down the prison camp, most of the inmates, with no worldly goods
or means of travel, settled locally. Cut off from the rest of the
world, these Jews only knew this part of their identity as a passport
notation of nationality.
To help themselves become a stronger Jewish community, the Jews
of Vorkuta recently sent two women to a regional seminar on how
to further Jewish communal life, set up Jewish programs of welfare
and renewal and learn about Jewish customs and traditions. The seminar,
sponsored and organized by the JDC, took place in the Komi Republic
(formerly northern Siberia) in the former Soviet Union.
Elena Davidovna and Margarita Israilevna tried to explain the enormity
of their task as emissaries of Judaism.
"It is hard for western people to understand the impact of
this event for Jews who have never made Rosh Hashanah before,"
said Davidovna. "Our first feeling is that we are scared we
will not be able to do this the right way and fulfil our obligations."
Israilevna agreed, adding, "There is this mixture of fear and
great excitement. We are humbled by something so profound as the
Jewish New Year."
The seminar was conducted by the JDC's Semyon Vaisman and two other
JDC professionals. It was Vaisman who first visited Vorkuta last
summer. He was accompanied by photojournalist Sharon Faulkner.
"When I first entered Vorkuta," said Vaisman, "there
was no community, only individuals who had never revealed their
Jewish identities to each other. But, upon our arrival, you could
sense the buzz throughout the town. That first evening, the Jews
of Vorkuta held their first meeting as a community. Since that day,
the transformation has been breathtaking."
Over the ensuing months, the Jewish community of Vorkuta and the
JDC have begun several programs, including a study tour of Israel
for Jews aged 17-26. When the group returned, they created a Sunday
Jewish kindergarten. Weekly Shabbat services now boast an average
crowd of 30 Jews.
"Today, Vorkuta has 150 active community members out of a Jewish
population of 500," said Davidovna proudly. "And we help
support 59 local Jews who need medical or welfare assistance. It
feels wonderful."
And with the new holiday comes the need to prepare.
"The apples and honey are bought at the end of summer and kept
until the holiday," explained Israilevna. "By Rosh Hashanah,
the snows will be deep and the temperature well below zero. So we
must do our holiday shopping early."
And how will the Jews of Vorkuta celebrate their first Rosh Hashanah?
"JDC has provided educational brochures on the holiday and
its customs," said Davidovna. "We will rent out a café
in town, and a performer from Vorkuta who knows Jewish songs from
his repertoire of different national tunes will sing to the crowd.
Everyone now has JDC and Chabad calendars, so we know they will
not miss the date.
"For many years, there have been Jews in Vorkuta," smiles
Davidovna. "But we always kept our identity a secret, even
from each other. This year, being Jewish will mean something more.
This year will bring the Jewish New Year to Vorkuta."
Robert Socolof is the media liaison with Joint Distribution
Committee.
^TOP
|
|
