On a seemingly desolate and isolated piece of land, a group of dozens of Jews stood at the beginning of the week for an emotional and uplifting ceremony to lay the cornerstone of what will be the largest Jewish center for thousands of Jews in the “Novi Moskva” (New Moscow) region, an area of land that was annexed to the Russian capital about a decade ago, making Moscow two and a half times larger and the sixth largest city in the world.
The entire area is bustling with construction, and thousands of apartments are being built continuously, combined with particularly large business centers and wide, adapted roads. In the center of the district, the municipality has allocated a large area for the Jewish community, and plans have been approved to establish a large and special Jewish center that will serve the Jews of the entire area and will be a significant and central part of the large residential and business neighborhoods.
The event was beautifully emceed and led by the talented Shliach and Rabbi of the district, Rabbi Yisrael Aryeh Leib Lazar, who has lived there for several years with his family, and heads the Jewish community, which boasts an active synagogue, with prayers, Torah and Chassidus classes and extensive activity for the youth and children.
He invited his father, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, HaGaon Rabbi Berel Lazar Shlita, to deliver his greetings and blessings, and to be the first to lay the cornerstone, in preparation for the establishment of the grand project.
This ceremony was part of a chain of events experienced by the community.
The day began with an Upshernish celebration for Rabbi Yisroel’s son, continued with the writing of a new Torah scroll for the benefit of the region’s Jews, and ended with the groundbreaking ceremony.
The events were attended by senior government representatives, the President of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Russia, Rabbi Alexander Boroda, the rabbi’s father-in-law, Rabbi Getzel Itzinger of London, rabbis, public figures, friends and many supporters who pledged their support for the establishment of the place.
This event also marked the opening of the winter season, which promises to be full of many Torah classes and community events, testifying to the significant development of Russian Jewry, their thirst for Yiddishkeit in all areas of Jewish life of its hundreds of thousands of residents.
