JEWISH HOUSE
Warmth of the Family Hearth
Many will remember this Pesach as the great Pesach prayer with the beautiful voices of the cantors and the seder all joining together the Jews of the capital. As always, the guests from Israel, the relatives and friends of Rabbi Zalman and Rebbizin Lea came to celebrate the holy day. They took the most active part in the preparation of the holy day and the Pesach seder itself. Meeting them in the friendly domestic surroundings, we were able to see the impressions that the community made on them during this visit in Chisinau, and heard about what changes had happened in their lives.
JEWISH HOUSE
Warmth of the Family Hearth
Many will remember this Pesach as the great Pesach prayer with the beautiful voices of the cantors and the seder all joining together the Jews of the capital. As always, the guests from Israel, the relatives and friends of Rabbi Zalman and Rebbizin Lea came to celebrate the holy day. They took the most active part in the preparation of the holy day and the Pesach seder itself. Meeting them in the friendly domestic surroundings, we were able to see the impressions that the community made on them during this visit in Chisinau, and heard about what changes had happened in their lives.
The pretty black-eyed Hannah, the Rabbi’s granddaughter, had already visited us. But this visit was a special one for us and for her. In fact, it was her marriage trip. Her husband, Nahum, was here for the first time, and everything was new to him. He studies at the college and is getting ready to become a rabbi, a minister of Lubavitch Rabbi. Together with Hannah, like all Hasid newly married couples, the two take a special training course to carry out their future mission.
Hannah teaches Mathematics and Computer Science at Chabad school in Tel Aviv, and also teaches the children Tora - this is her mission. People usually say that the religious women lead a secluded family life. But we can disprove this by looking at the women, who belong within the family of Rabbi Zalman Abelsky. The modern women of Chabad, with their husbands, give a lot of power and knowledge to help the Jews to be comfortable within the Jewish lifestyle. They work at schools, kindergardens, and medical institutions, and explain the importance of the commandment of lighting the candles on Shabbat.
Hannah’s answer to the question if she sees any difference in the community life, when she had come earlier and now was the following: “Yes and I see the positive changes. More people are coming to the synagogue. It wasn’t so earlier that the people come to pray three times a day. But now I see this everyday.”
The grandson of Rabbi Zalman, Menahem-Medel, a round-faced cheerful fellow, joined the conversation. Like Hannah, this is not his first time in Moldova. And as he says, he felt as good here as he dud during the last visit, and that there were many young people in the synagogue, who you can communicate with.
The other grandson of Rabbi Zalman, Isroel, amazed the attendees with his masterly cantor singing. His pure beautiful voice filled the synagogue with the Hasid melodies while reading the prayer. He lives and studies in Israel, in the city of Zfat, where the biggest Chabad yeshiva in the world is located.
When asked if he wanted to knit up his life with singing, Isroel answered that all his talents he gives to the serving God. The cantor singing was not, for him, a separate specialty, but an integral part of his work. He was not taught to sing in a special educational institution, and his voice training is natural.
Rabbi Zalman joined our conversation and remarked that Isroel’s good voice has a beneficial effect on the people, as it attracts them to the study the Tora, and to the other Jewish traditions. But Isroel has another occupation, which attracts him greatly: he is also the chief editor of the monthly booklet, “Tora’s News,” which is published in Zfat. He enjoys writing about the work with children and young people, and a lot of his articles are devoted to Moshiach, the issues of upbringing and education.
As always, everyone gathered for the group photo, to be kept by all as a keepsake.
By Irina Buzhak - Yistoki
