By COLlive reporter
Photos: Vitalik Doroshenko
An exciting celebration was held just before the holiday of Shavuos at the Chabad shul in the Russian village of Malakhovka as they welcomed a new Torah scroll to the Aron Kodesh of their renovated sanctuary.
Malakhovka, a Moscow suburb renowned for its historic dachas, is etched in the history of Chabad. The Frierdiker Rebbe lived there for 6 weeks as part of his sentence by Communist authorities before he was allowed to leave the Iron Curtain.
The shul itself was built by a Jew named Esterman. When he applied for permission to open it, his request was denied. He went on to build it and was executed by the Soviets for that. The shul nevertheless remained standing until today.
Honored with writing the final letters in the scroll was Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar who came with a delegation of Jews from Moscow to add to the celebration.
The donor of the Torah is Josh Nass, CEO of Dignified PR which focuses on providing media relations and reputation management services. Born-and-bred New Yorker, Nass speaks Russian among another five languages and uses his talents to speaking in support of Israel and Jewish causes.
He dedicated the Torah to his grandfather Berel ben Velvel OBM and in remarks broadcast live, he thanked Rabbi Lazar for his friendship and expressed with wishes for the growth of the local Jewish community.
As is customary, the crowds danced hakafos, to the lively Simchas Torah melodies. The Shliach to Malachovka, Rabbi Moshe Tamarin honored the guests from Moscow, as well as the shul’s local members with reciting various pesukim.
The gabbaim expressed their appreciation to Rabbi Avraham Kashayev for his dedication to making the event such a success.
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