When a speech in a Moscow synagogue about daily study of Mishnah Berurah is an ordinary event the blessings of Redemption are surely being fulfilled. Memories of the Moscow of another era
Last week I sat in the main synagogue of Moscow on Archipova Street. As I closed my eyes and relived previous Moscow memories I heard the voice of the speaker from Canada Rabbi Dovid Hofstetter — president of the worldwide Dirshu organization — in the background. Despite the cold a large audience had gathered to hear him describe his new plan for a daf yomi program in halachah learning a daily page of Mishnah Berurah.
A perfectly ordinary Jewish gathering one would think convened for the purpose of strengthening Torah study. Such meetings take place everywhere even in Moscow. But it isn’t really so ordinary at all and certainly not when taken back in memory to the Moscow of another era.
It was the 1960s and a friend whom I’ve known since my cheder days in Bnei Brak succeeded in getting into Russia and back safely. He managed to hook up with a delegation from the Israeli Communist Youth League who had organized a trip to the Soviet Union. For propaganda purposes the Israeli communists wanted the group to include a more varied spectrum of Israel’s population and my friend was asked to join them as a representative of the chareidi community. It took some nerve but my adventurous friend rose to the challenge. To be honest the rest of us were fearful of what might happen to him; it wasn’t uncommon for visitors to disappear in the Soviet Union amid claims that they were spying for the West.
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