Bryansk’s Long Wait is Over

By COLlive reporter

Jewish life in Bryansk is gaining momentum under the leadership of its Chief Rabbi Menachem Mendel Zaklos, his wife Rivka, and the community’s chairman, Lev Linkov.

Situated on the Russian border of Belarus and Ukraine, Bryansk is home to a relatively large Jewish population. It is also the regional center for Jews in four towns – Klintsy, Novozybkov, Surazh and Unecha.

Yet, until now there has not been a mikvah available in the area. “We needed to travel hundreds of kilometers for a kosher mikvah,” says Rabbi Zaklos.

Zaklos is currently spearheading the construction of a state-of-the-art mikvah in the backyard of the city’s synagogue which is expected to be completed in two months time.

Rabbi Schneur Zalman Kahn, member of the Beis Din of Moscow, has recently visited Bryansk to supervise the project. Another authority involved in the project is architect Rabbi Shmuel Levin, a mikvah expert who developed a 3-D presentation for building mikvahs.

The mikvah is being built with the financial support of the Alashvili family of Moscow and the mikvah foundation of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, based in Brussels.

It is part of a larger building project that will include a new synagogue, Jewish community center, Hebrew school and preschool, a Judaica store and kosher restaurant.