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THE CHIEF REBBETZIN
BY MARYANA KOLPAKCHI
It wasn't such long time ago, but for me it seems like ages. The phone rang, and a pleasant, accented voice asked me if I would
like to come and light Shabbos candles. I was skeptical, but I answered, "Yes". What would follow was my first meeting with Rebbetzin Leah Abelsky, the wife of Rabbi Zalman Abelsky, Chief Rabbi of Kishinev and Moldova.
How would I describe her? She was not very tall, but elegant and impressive looking. It took a few weeks of coming and lighting Shabbos candles before I worked up the courage to ask her the thousand questions which filled my mind. With enormous patience she began to explain to me the basics of Judaism.
A little while later, I started to attend Rebbetzin Leah's lectures, which begin with the Hebrew alef-bet. Her lectures are attended by a variety of women ranging from college students, to engineers, to pensioners. Rebbetzin Abelsky's tremendous pedagogical skills and experience are immediately obvious in her teaching style, which constantly engages the students' attention, every minute filled -- with reading, discussions, and, of course, her lecture.
The most interesting part, obviously, is the discussion period which follows the lecture, since every conversation with Rebbetzin Leah teaches you not only the laws of the Torah, but is also spiced with words of wisdom about every topic from the everyday challenges of life to the best recipes for gefilte fish. You keep on attending the class and before you know it, things are beginning to change: you meet new Jewish friends and little by little, a real Jewish community begins to develop.
The Rebbetzin takes a keen interest in the lives of each and every Jew in Kishinev, and she has her special way of communicating with each individual. With an old lady she speaks Yiddish; with the youth she speaks Russian; with Esther, a young student from a medical college in Roumania, she converses in fluent Roumanian. To watch Rebbetzin Leah feeding an old woman in the hospital, is to get a wordless lesson in the essence of kindness.
During her years in Kishinev, the Rebbetzin has amassed countless friends. They all know the address to find a sympathetic ear, some words of advice or help for their problems. All of their names are listed in the small book she always carries with her. This list is constantly changing. As some people emigrate to Israel, to the United States or to some other corner of the world. Each time Rebbetzin Leah has to erase a name from her book, it registers a deep pang of concern in her heart, and her most sincere wishes for success follow each of them.
Rebbetzin Leah may justifiably be best known for her most remarkable project: her weekly Shabbos table. At the end of the week the cooking begins for the huge crowd of guests, which will participate in the Shabbos table. The guests crowd around the table until there's not even a tiny space, and even then they somehow find a crack of space. (Incidentally, Rebbetzin Leah's "cooking school" is another feature of the Moldovian Jewish community. Actually, to tell the truth, it's an "eating school," where you'll learn how to eat not only the right way, but the most delicious way, too).
Probably at least half of the Kishinev Jewish community has joined the famous Shabbos table at one time or another, not including the many guests from different places all over the world. The mix of people at her table is truly wondrous - all ages, all levels of education and experience, but all with one most basic thing in common: a Jewish neshoma -- soul. More than once I witnessed the sight of people thanking the Rebbetzin with tears rolling down their faces, not because they had just had a wonderful experience, but because they had experienced something that had infused their life with new meaning. The Rebbetzin detests compliments, and so she immediately turns the conversation to her dear grandchildren, whom she doesn't see nearly often enough. As soon as she kisses them she disappears for a half a year.
Anyhow, although she may not spoil her grandchildren as much as she would like to, she certainly spoils the entire Kishinev community, and for that we are all very grateful.
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