Despite the frigid Soviet landscape, my Jewish spark was set aflame
As told to Riki Goldstein by Mrs. Suzzanah Fain
Iwas studying in the university in Sverdlovsk in the early 1970s, and it was in the depth of a Russian winter when a fellow university student called Eduard Finkelstein asked me, “Suzzanah, do you want to know about Chanukah?”
I had no hesitations. That shiur about Chanukah became my first Jewish learning experience. Together with another ten students, I joined the local activist group for a shiur, and I saw a menorah for the first time in my life. How many menorahs were there in this distant Russian city? After that first exposure to Judaism, I knew this was what I wanted, and I attended more classes. Yet it was very dangerous.
Soon after I joined, the KGB started to summon members of the group for questioning, and one member was arrested and imprisoned. People stopped coming — only three of us newcomers were determined to stay involved despite the risks. But I didn’t care. This was my entry to another life.
Create a free account to keep reading.
