For 70 years, the Jews of the Soviet Union languished behind an Iron Curtain, discriminated against, robbed of their Torah, and denied the right to escape from their repressive land. Then the curtain was flung open, and Russian Jews poured into the United States by the tens of thousands.
The year was 1989. Rabbi Paysach Diskind, who was selling long distance telephone service at the time, wondered at this sudden torrent of Jews, a phenomenon that could never have been predicted. “I thought it had to be a stroke of hasgacha pratis (divine providence),” says Rabbi Diskind. “Hashem had clearly designed events to save the Russian Jewish population from evaporating.”
A Special Job
Rabbi Diskind must have one of the most unusual jobs in Baltimore; it is a job he took upon himself, and that evolved from this basic insight. For over 20 years, he has been the face of Russian kiruv in Baltimore, inspiring our brothers from the former Soviet Union to return to their Jewish heritage and traditions, and being inspired by them, in turn.
To describe the source of his motivation, Rabbi Diskind illustrates just one aspect of the miracle that was the freeing of Russian Jewry. “Throughout the Communist years,” he explains, “Jews were anxious not to have the word `Jew’ stamped on their mandatory, internal ID cards, since being a Jew virtually guaranteed discrimination in schools and workplaces. They filled in Russian or Ukrainian as their nationality whenever possible. Then, between 1988 and 1999, an incredible miracle occurred. America assigned 40,000 of its 120,000 refugee slots to Russian Jews! You actually had to verify that you were Jewish, and persecuted as such, to be let into America as a refugee. At the same time, Senator Lautenberg from New Jersey (see www.vdare.com/allen/lautenberg.htm) was creating pressure in Washington, which was transferred to Moscow, so that they agreed to let the people go.
“Moreover, refugee status allowed for all federal benefits, such as food stamps, and provided the safety net that gave people the confidence to emigrate. Today, having the word `Jew’ stamped on your Russian ID card is actually a ticket out of Russia and into such countries as Israel, America, and Germany!
“These happenings helped me realize that Hashem intended to reconnect this population to Yiddishkeit,” says Rabbi Diskind, who grew up in Baltimore and is the son of Rabbi Hirsch Diskind, long-time former principal of Bais Yaakov, and the grandson of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, zt”l. “Although I could not imagine how this would happen, I trusted that Hashem would make sure it happened, and I wanted to play a role in that process.”
Getting Started
Seeing that there was little outreach to the Russian Jews, Rabbi Diskind decided to learn Russian and meet the immigrants. After a few months of studying the language, he could construct basic sentences. Starting with a small core group with whom Rabbi Porter and Etz Chaim had built a relationship, he got to work. “I went through the heavily Russian populated Millbrook neighborhood and knocked on people’s doors. I can still remember knocking on the door of a German family, by mistake, and how angry the owner got! I was very accepted by the Russian people, who knew no Americans, apart from a few relatives, and I was greeted very warmly.”
Rabbi Diskind also connected with Russian Jews via Jewish Family Service (now known as Jewish Community Services), an agency of The Associated. “They engaged me, because I spoke Russian, and asked me to be a part of their intake with any new arrival to Baltimore, which went through the now-defunct HIAS program,” says Rabbi Diskind. Through JFS, he met members of almost every family that came to Baltimore and developed personal, direct relationships with all of them.
“The Russian-speaking Jewish community is a very, very tightly knit, well-networked community, resembling the Eruv community in this respect,” says Rabbi Diskind. “Any hatzlacha (success) that I have had is attributable to the genuine relationships that I have developed. Most of these relationships continue to this day.”
Rabbi Diskind started the Achim organization, incorporated under Etz Chaim, in 1989. The organization is dedicated to bringing the Jewish Russian-speaking population into the local Baltimore Jewish community. Achim has been funded since its inception by the local Jewish community, including The Associated. Because of the economic downturn, Achim no longer receives the $20,000 to $25,000 allocation from The Associated it once heavily depended on. Rabbi Diskind fundraises privately, including from the Russian Jews themselves.
A Day in the Life of Rabbi Diskind
Rabbi Diskind starts his day with learning, from about 9:30 a.m. to noon. But even before his morning learning seder, he makes a half-hour’s worth of phone calls, an essential factor, he says, for any success. He keeps up with his active database of 150 families throughout the day, via phone or email, even if some people get a call only once a year. “People need to know that I am here and thinking of them, because sooner or later, everyone has a Jewish question – a baby naming, wedding, or funeral,” explains Rabbi Diskind. In addition to keeping in touch, he visits sick people, attends funerals, makes shiva calls, etc., the kind of attention you expect from a spiritual guide. Part of the day is spent doing administrative and fundraising work. “Raising Yiddishkeit and raising funds!” he exclaims.
Rabbi Diskind’s nights are the busiest. This is when he meets people and catches up with them. He views the Russian Jewish community as consisting of several concentric circles: The inner circle are those who come to classes regularly, as well as to melave malkas and other events; the next circle are those who come to events occasionally; and the outermost circle of people attend an event maybe once a year. In addition to these circles, there are approximately 2,000 families to whom “Rabbi Paysach” is a household name associated with Judaism. They turn to Rabbi Diskind when they need a Jewish response to their situation. This larger group is the feeder into the concentric circles.
Achim’s Activities
The Millbrook shul is where Rabbi Diskind’s Sunday morning Shacharis services are held. Kehillas Achim started in 1998 as a Shabbos program. Rabbi Diskind would walk to Millbrook from his home in Ranchleigh, after attending his own shul, to conduct services from 11 to noon. When people started moving out of the neighborhood and were driving back to come to shul, he realized it was not appropriate. “I told my community to reserve the Shabbos slot for their Shabbos meal at home, and moved the service to Sunday morning. A core of 20 people attend, with an average of 15 showing up each week. I speak English for the younger folks and Russian for the older folks,” says Rabbi Diskind. “It is a full service no short-cut Shacharis from 8 to 9 a.m., followed by donuts, coffee, and a parsha class. I invite all WWW readers to attend.”
On Monday nights, Rabbi Diskind gives a Mesilas Yesharim class, preceded by a Hebrew literacy class. On Tuesday nights, a women-only class is given by Mrs. Tamar Englander. The other nights of the week are devoted to meeting with individuals, one-on-one. On winter motzei Shabbosim, Rabbi Diskind holds a monthly melava malka with a featured guest speaker. Past speakers include Dr. Harold Gans, Dr. Elie Krakowski, Dr. Andy Goldfinger, and rebbeim from Ner Israel. In the summer months, he runs a camp for girls, attended by 15 to 25 girls.
“The purpose of these functions is to give people a sense of connection and community,” explains Rabbi Diskind. “Jews need this to thrive. It also gives the Russian community exposure to other Jews and Yiddishkeit, since both frum and non-frum immigrants attend. They relate to each other anyway, so why not connect them with Yiddishkeit?”
Rabbi Diskind celebrates the Jewish holidays with the Russian community, whether a Lag B’Omer picnic or a Purim or Chanukah get-together. And then there are the Rosh Hashana and hour-long Yom Kippur services held in Millbrook, to a give a taste of our Yamim Noraim in the Russian language to those who want a Jewish experience on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. For those who are more committed, Rabbi Diskind holds a complete Yom Kippur service, as well.
Dreams and Realities
People often ask Rabbi Diskind about his “success rate.” He responds by explaining his kiruv philosophy: “The goal I set for myself and how I measure success is not that everyone becomes religious but, rather, that I am building genuine personal relationships with this population. My dream, of course, is that every Jew will become religious,” admits Rabbi Diskind. “In reality, they may or may not become frum. But I must accept all relationships irrespective of their becoming frum. I can’t expect people coming from that background to accept my opinion – because if I had come from that background, I might not accept my opinion either! How can I expect more from people than I would from myself?”
Still, of the many people who have benefited from Achim’s programs and services, 33 families or individuals are now completely committed to Torah and mitzvos. In addition, there are over 10 families who came to Baltimore already observant. Many of them are also active in Achim. “There are many more people who are on the path of Torah and mitzvos but have not committed to everything,” says Rabbi Diskind. “Some families are careful with the mitzva of taharas hamishpacha, while others are careful with kashrus. Yet others are careful not to eat milk and meat together, and many more light candles every Friday night before sundown. At this year’s Yom Kippur service, you could see that even more individuals had become frum since last year,” notes Rabbi Diskind. “One family always comes in from Woodbine, Maryland (a 40-minute trip) for the Neila part of the Yom Kippur service. This year, at their eleventh grade daughter’s insistence, they stayed in town for Yom Kippur and walked to the services.”
With his work beginning to bear fruit, how does Rabbi Diskind feel about the last 20 years? “I have learned that we need to do whatever small part we are able to do,” he says, “and let Hashem take care of the rest.”
Rabbi Diskind may be contacted at paysach@achim.org. To subscribe to Achim’s weekly newsletter, go to the website, www.achim.org.
Sidebar
Words from the Heart
by Margie Pensak
The simpatico feelings of closeness, warmth, and respect shared by Rabbi Diskind and the Russian community are quite evident. Here, the Russian Jews themselves speak about the effect Rabbi Diskind had on their lives.
“He Never Pushed”
“I love him so much,” says Yelena Malachevsky. The story of Boris and Yelena Malachevsky’s spiritual growth is just one of several in the Russian community that testify to Rabbi Diskind’s inimitable style and success. “He changed a lot of Russian Jewish people’s lives, and brought us to the right direction, the right derech,” says Mrs. Malachevsky. “First my son became religious and then my husband and I became religious. My husband had a bris when he was 51 years old. We had a chupa four years ago. He changed our lives dramatically. We found happiness and peace of mind. We came to America 20 years ago, and he was very patient all those years. He never pushed; if he would have, I would have been very skeptical. He is amazing and humble, and his wife Ruthy and their children are amazing. I don’t know how he has time to have a special close relationship with every one of the Russians. I can’t even express my gratitude. We are thankful to Hashem that He brought us to Baltimore to meet Rabbi Paysach Diskind!”
Speaking Their Language
Says Emilia Selig, “When I came to Baltimore, I was among frum people but not Russians. Then I was introduced to Russians who were just beginning to learn about Yiddishkeit, and others who had experienced it for a few years. Whenever I would speak to them about something in halacha, even the non-frum Russians would tell me that I need to ask Paysach. They said this very lovingly. Those who become frum through Rabbi Diskind say he feels as if they are his children,” continues Mrs. Selig. “He looks out for them – for their shidduchim, for example. They turn to him when they have simchas or, chas vechalila, when they have tzar. We Russians want to do things right, according to halacha. Even the non-frum Russians feel this way, for example, when arranging a funeral. They ask him questions for guidance,” says Mrs. Selig. “It is very, very important to have someone to ask questions to, and it is especially important for some elderly Russians, who do not know the English language, to be understood and to be answered in Russian.”
Connecting the Generations
Itzik Spekterman came to the United States from Russia 20 years ago. He first met Rabbi Diskind when he came to the apartment and introduced himself to Itzik’s family. Since then, Achim has had a tremendous impact on the Spekterman family.
“Twenty years ago, I was still attached to the way I grew up; I was still working on Saturdays,” admits Itzik. “Somehow, about 10 or 12 years after we met, Paysach changed my view around 180 degrees. Somehow, he convinced me; he explained and opened my eyes. I am shomer Shabbos today. Even my business card for my garage in Reisterstown says `Shomer Shabbos’ in Hebrew.”
Rabbi Diskind not only influenced Itzik; he has had a very positive effect on the entire Spekterman family. “My boys are absolutely in love with Paysach,” continues Itzik. “If not for him, I don’t know what kind of boys they would have turned out to be. My oldest son Joseph keeps Shabbos, and once a month he spends it at Paysach’s house. He knows a lot more than me, only because of Paysach’s influence. He goes to public school, and he now learns after school with Paysach and with others whom he recommends.
“My grandparents were very religious,” says Itzik. “My parents knew nothing; I didn’t know anything. Now my kids will know, like my grandparents. We absolutely love Paysach. He does everything with all the feelings inside of him.”
How does Itzik envision Achim in another 10 years? “Achim draws a younger crowd for its gatherings, unlike shul, where I see older faces,” says Itzik. “More and more young people, like my second son, will be drawn to it.”
© Margie Pensak 2010
