The Last Shtetl

It’s not simple to have an all-Jewish town smack in the middle of a Shiite Muslim country, but the Mountain Jews of Azerbaijan’s Red Village, who’ve been living here since First Temple times, have been maintaining a separate yet peaceful coexistence with their neighbors for centuries. Moshe Klein knew he had to visit before it was too late 

The Last Shtetl

When Moshe Klein first heard of the Mountain Jews, whose presence in Azerbaijan dates back to the time of the First Beis Hamikdash, he knew he would have to visit their hometown of Gyrmyzy Gasaba to learn more about them and their history. With Covid and the Russian-Ukraine war both prompting many residents to relocate to other places, visiting Gyrmyzy Gasaba while it still had a vibrant Jewish community became a priority, and so he and his wife packed up and off they flew.

Prior to his arrival in Azerbaijan, a country bordering Iran on the south, and Russia and Georgia on the north,  Klein had been in touch with the local rabbi, who prefers to be known simply by his first name, Rabbi Yona. Rabbi Yona, who came to Grymyzy Gasaba (known in English as Red Village) from Kfar Saba, Israel, in 2005,  sent a driver to Baku International Airport to pick up the Kleins and bring them back to the town, which is believed to be the oldest Jewish community outside of Israel, and the world’s sole surviving shtetl.

Klein soon discovered that he and his wife were the only guests in the Red Village’s Jewish hotel. While it wasn’t exactly a five-star Hilton, Klein was happy to support the local Jewish community and eager to get a taste of mountain life, particularly because this trip was unlike so many of the others he had taken.

“This wasn’t just about seeing a Jewish community,” explains Klein. “This was about experiencing shtetl life. I know what a Hungarian shtetl is, like you might find in Monroe or Boro Park, but what is a shtetl like in Azerbaijan?”