On March 7, 2022, about a week and a half after the start of the war in Ukraine, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt - then still the chief rabbi of Moscow - and his wife, Dara, left their home in the Russian capital.
The goal: to leave Russia as quickly as possible.
"We arrived at the Moscow airport, each of us holding one suitcase in our hands - and that was it. At the port, the police stopped us and asked why we were leaving. I explained to them that my father was hospitalized in a hospital in Israel, and that I wanted to visit him. After a short investigation, we flew to Budapest via Istanbul, and since then we have not We returned to Russia."
Sounds a bit like an escape scene in a Hollywood movie.
"If they ever make a movie about the departure, they will present it as if we left in the dead of night. But the truth is that we left in the middle of the day. Less colorful, I know."
Rabbi Goldschmidt (59) is now sitting in his new office in the Knafi Nesher neighborhood in Jerusalem, given to him by virtue of his position as president of the Conference of European Rabbis.
Five months after Spek left, Spek fled Russia, which changed its face and became, as he defined it, "Iran", he says that for the first time in decades he feels at ease.
"Suddenly I can stop being silent," he smiles.
Behind him is a half-empty bookcase, with a set of Gemara and a few other books.
The reason: he is busy these days taking care of refugees who fled from Ukraine.
He chooses his words, his speech is full of explosive sentences, and still, after 33 years of experience in Russia, it is clear that he does not allow himself to reveal all the moves behind the scenes.
Are you satisfied with your decision to leave Russia?
"I asked myself this question many times, but day by day I realize that I did the right thing, also for the Jewish community. I am now in a place where I can help them, and I can speak freely. I am much calmer now, because it is liberating To speak after not being able to say what's on my heart for years. If I was still there, I wouldn't be able to say a word. Now I'm helping refugees, helping them. I didn't make a mistake. Thank God I made the right decision, at the right time. If I hadn't left then , I would go out now."
When your daughter-in-law revealed on Twitter that you had left Russia, there was an uproar online.
"I admit that I did not expect this uproar. In the end, I didn't give Sharansky. You have to put things in proportion. I think the uproar happened because I was, and still am, the only Russian cleric who came out against Russia's war in Ukraine and left the country. I believe that more people will come out against the war, but they need to be given time. It didn't happen in one day for me either. My decision and actions made many religious leaders, not only Jews, think."
In the Central Synagogue in Moscow, with the former Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, and the rabbi of Belgium, Albert Gigi.
"I'm not angry with the community, because I was ousted by consent."
Photo: Eli Atkin,
Don't you feel guilty about leaving your community behind?
"Obviously, there is a feeling of guilt about leaving the community, and my wife feels it even more than I do, but I came to the realization that today it is better in all respects for Jews not to be in Russia. Today is not like during the Holocaust, when it was not possible to escape. I showed the way to many families, who decided to follow me to Israel. The political situation puts the future of the Jewish community in Russia in question, because in many ways Russia is going back to the days of the Soviet Union.
Tell you it was easy?
No.
My heart is still in Moscow.
I more than miss - I feel a sense of responsibility.
I know that I can help the community there much more than Israel, but yes, there is a certain feeling as if I abandoned them."
"I had a feeling this was it"
Shortly before he left Russia, Rabbi Goldschmidt, according to him, awoke to a new reality in the country, a reality that became "very disturbingly similar" to the USSR he became aware of more than three decades ago, when he first landed behind the Iron Curtain.
"I went to bed on February 23, the eve of the war, and the next day I woke up and realized that I was in a completely different country, with different laws and different rules. In the BRY, they didn't let the Jews live according to their faith, and they didn't let them decide where they wanted to live - and suddenly I saw these laws Renewed in today's Russia.
If a person criticizes the war, he could be jailed for 15 years, and the rest of the things that were more or less independent of the state - were closed.
Day by day in Russia I saw more and more arrests of people who oppose the war, I saw pictures of people who go out into the streets and are arrested - grandmothers and grandfathers who are arrested without trial.
These are extremely difficult sights, like in dark times.
"And I saw Jews trying to leave the country. There was an atmosphere of fear, even hysteria. Even following the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, I felt that we were returning to the days of the Soviet Union.
The planes stopped flying from Russia to Europe, and the West demanded back its leased planes.
In such a situation, who knows if the flights to Israel will continue.
As the situation worsened, the decision to leave matured.
I am not a private person, I received inquiries from hundreds and thousands of people I am in contact with from all over the world, and I realized that this is what is needed."
With the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine, the Jewish community in Russia, in all its aspects, found itself in a great challenge.
On the one hand - Jews groan in the attacked Ukraine, and on the other hand - they themselves, the residents of Russia, which has threatened to imprison any citizen who publishes "fake news" about the war, or even dares to call it "war".
Due to the great sensitivity, there were rabbis in Russia who chose to express their position carefully, apparently to avoid harming the government's attitude towards them.
Thus, for example, Rabbi Berel Lazar, the chief rabbi of Russia, called "to pray for the peace of all nations."
On the other hand, Rabbi Alexander Berda, chairman of the board of directors of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, expressed unequivocal support for Putin's claim that the war in Ukraine is directed against the "Nazis" there.
In his youth, with the mayor of Moscow in those days, photo: from the private album
Rabbi Goldschmidt stood, perhaps, in the most challenging position of all.
On the one hand, there was a rabbi of the capital Moscow, who may be in the interest of the Jewish community there to keep quiet.
However, since 2011 he has been serving under another, more significant hat: President of the Conference of Rabbis of Europe, an organization whose members are about 700 rabbis of communities and synagogues across the continent.
As a representative of hundreds of rabbis in Europe, the majority of which expressed a firm position against the Russian invasion, Goldschmidt felt that he was expected to speak out against the war - a position he holds, according to his testimony, unequivocally.
"I found myself in an impossible trap. We knew there would be pressure on the community in the city to support the war, as Rabbi Barda did. And indeed, the pressures began. The decision we made was not to condemn - but also not to support. We simply did not say a word. But I saw what was happening in Ukraine, the The Jewish communities that are being destroyed and the thousands of refugees, and on the other hand I sit and remain silent, and it burned in me. I consulted with the people of the community, and finally we decided to establish an aid fund for refugees."
As the days passed, and the situation of the Jews in Ukraine worsened, Rabbi Goldschmidt found it difficult to bear the burden of silence.
"I looked at rabbis from Ukraine, who built a community for 30 years, invested their lives, built synagogues, orphanages - and one day they had to leave with one suitcase in hand. This is a tragedy. Some of them were great heroes, they made sure to get the members of their communities out under the bombings. There are quite a few heroic stories there."
You also did some kind of heroic act. You went against Putin.
"I don't feel like a hero, I did the right thing. I understand why there is interest in the issue, because I am the only religious leader who did this. But it must be said - it is a difficult decision."
Rabbi Goldschmidt and his wife made the decision to leave Russia on March 6.
It was Sunday evening.
"I told Dera that we are in a special period of time in history. One day our children and grandchildren will ask me what I did at this time, if I just sat and remained silent. That is why we made the decision together that I must go out and help the refugees."
You thought you wouldn't go back to Moscow, actually?
"I didn't know then that I wouldn't return to Russia, because no one knew how long the war would last. But I had a feeling that this was it. We went to Budapest, and from there to Warsaw and Vienna. We helped in each city the members of the communities who fled Ukraine to rehabilitate, to house them."
Do you understand why other religious leaders in Russia don't come out like you against the war?
"'Don't judge your friend until you get to his place.' To go against the government. In many respects Russia today is Iran: the authoritarian rule, life under sanctions and international isolation. There are many parallels. I believe the political and economic situation will worsen. I pray for the future of the Jewish community in Russia. I did what I saw fit."
"As if I went through a time machine"
He was born in Zurich, Switzerland to an ultra-Orthodox family.
His father was an industrialist, his mother worked as a translator.
"Even though my father was the chairman of the parents' committee at my school, I was kicked out at the age of 9, so I continued to study at a non-Jewish school," he laughs. At the age of 11, he was sent to Israel, where he studied at the "Basics of the Torah" school in Tel Aviv, near Madinah Square .
He was educated at the elite Ponivz yeshiva in Bnei Brak, and from there he continued to the Telez yeshiva in Chicago.
Then he returned to Israel and studied at another elite yeshiva, Mir in Jerusalem, and at the same time he studied in a fellowship at the Merkaz rabbi yeshiva of religious Zionism.
Then he returned to studies at the Ner Israel yeshiva in Baltimore and studied for a master's degree in engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
"There I met my wife Dara, who was a graduate of Yeshiva University. I was looking for a girl who agreed to immigrate to Israel, but there weren't many of them," he smiles.
A few days after their wedding, the two immigrated to Israel, and here Goldschmidt received his rabbinic certification.
In 1987, he established Kolal Abrach in Nazareth Illit, today Nof HaGalil, and two years later he received a phone call that changed his life.
With his wife, Dre.
"We decided together that I must go out and help the refugees", photo: Eli Atkin
"A friend from Zurich that I haven't spoken to for over ten years called me. He told me that they were looking for an assistant to the rabbi of the USSR, Avraham Shaivitz, to spend a year in Moscow.
I answered him that there are thousands of good candidates in Bnei Brak, and I asked why he specifically turned to me.
His answer was: 'If there is a person crazy enough to establish including Abrach in Upper Nazareth, maybe he will be willing to go to Moscow.'"
The surprising phone call ignited an old dream in Goldschmidt's heart.
"My father was involved in setting up transportation systems in the clothing industry, and thanks to his position he reached many distant countries, including Iran, Mongolia and the USSR.
Just before his trip to the USSR, when I was a child, he made contact with the underground Jewish organizations that worked to support the 'syrovniks', those who refuse to immigrate to Israel. He gave them lessons and clothes there, and when he returned home he told about heroes who are not afraid of the KGB and live a Jewish life under The hammer and sickle.
It was fascinating, and even then I began to dream that I would get there myself."
Goldschmidt accepted the appointment, and in early 1989 he arrived in Moscow on the mission of the Chief Rabbinate and the late Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik from Zurich. Since the Soviet minister who approved his arrival was removed from his position in the meantime, the rabbi from Israel was forced to "enter into matters through the back door", as he defined it.
A year earlier, in a secret meeting between them, the late Rabbi Adin Steinzalz and the Prime Minister of Italy at the time, Giulio Andreotti, agreed to establish a "Jewish Civilization Center" under the Academy of Sciences in Russia - the only center authorized to issue entry visas to Western citizens. Behind the scenes the goal was to set up an underground yeshiva in the place.
"When I arrived in Moscow, the community was under the control of the KGB.
A synagogue and a half were operating throughout the city.
A million Jews lived in the capital, but maybe a dozen knew the Hebrew alphabet.
At the time, there were hundreds of organizations in the Soviet Union, all underground, that taught Hebrew, and had to work under the Soviet radar.
"The Academy of Sciences sat in a villa in a beautiful park in the northwest of the city, and there we established a yeshiva. We had a head of the yeshiva who was a Hasidic rebbe, and the staff included, among others, the future Chief Justice Zvi Tal, and Prof. Shaul Stampfer, today from the history department of The People of Israel and the Judaism of our time at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Many students came to us from all over the USSR.
One of them was Ze'ev Elkin, who today is the Minister of Construction and Housing.
"In Moscow, I felt as if I had gone through a time machine. The cars looked like they were from the 1960s, and the shops were completely empty. Clothing or furniture stores had the words 'Not available today', and in the back they would offer the goods when they were ten times more expensive than the listed price. If you wanted to hail a taxi, you could just Pull out a Marlboro box - and the driver would gladly take you for hours of driving."
Conflict with the government
At the end of 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, and the Soviet bloc began to collapse.
As it faded and crumbled, the Jewish movements increased their activity.
Rabbi Goldschmidt established the first rabbinical court in the USSR, after nearly 50 years without a court in Eastern Europe, and began operating in the field of Gitin, conversions, and inquiries into Judaism. "Suddenly, hundreds of thousands of Russians said they were Jewish, without having any sign of it." he rememberd.
In a meeting with the Pope, Franciscus.
"I admit that I did not expect the uproar created by my departure", photo: Eli Atkin
In 1993, Goldschmidt was officially appointed the chief rabbi of Moscow, and together with his people he established Jewish schools.
It soon became clear to him that when it came to the world of Judaism, many times the teachers were no more knowledgeable than their students.
"At night we would pass the material to the teachers, and in the morning they would teach it in class. Those were crazy times."
The community grew and prospered, among other things with the help of the oligarchs, the new billionaires who arose after the fall of the Soviet Union. "80 percent of the oligarchs were Jewish, but they knew nothing about Judaism.
I went from banker to banker, that's what they were called then, and I explained to them that a community should be established.
They didn't understand why at first."
Little by little, the financial people were harnessed, and the community received more institutions, schools, yeshiva, kalims, and mikves.
In 1996, the "Jewish Congress of Russia", an umbrella organization of the Jewish communities in the country, was established, with the backing of one of the most powerful oligarchs at that time, Vladimir Gusinsky - who was, among other things, the owner of the popular NTV channel.
But then things started to go wrong.
On the last day of 1999, a rather unknown official named Vladimir Putin was appointed as acting president of the Russian Federation, upon the retirement of the previous president, Boris Yeltsin.
A short time later he was appointed to an official position.
One of Putin's first goals was to fight the oligarchs, including those who helped the Jewish community.
Gosinski was forced to go into exile, and so did other Jewish businessmen.
"The Chabadniks, with the help of the government, appointed a new chief rabbi for Russia - Rabbi Berel Lazar," explains Goldschmidt. "Since then, the Jewish community in the country has been effectively divided.
On the one hand, Chabad, which is close to the government, and on the other hand, the Orthodox community and the Jewish Congress, which have correct relations with the government on the whole."
Then Rabbi Goldschmidt found himself for the first time on a collision course with the Russian authorities.
"In 2000, when the Russians tried to take over our community after the split, they took away my residence permit in the country. In 2005, after I returned from Israel to Moscow, they stopped me at the airport and made it difficult for me to enter. When Dmitri Medvedev was the president of Russia, we had some peace, and the community's push I got Russian citizenship.
"In 2018 they tried to get rid of me again, but this time it was more challenging for them, because arresting me again and again was already too dramatic. What was their solution? Every time I crossed the border, they detained me for hours, with interrogations and demands. They tried to make my life miserable , but it didn't work for them."
But now, when the war in Ukraine pushed him into an impossible corner, Goldschmidt claims that the authorities managed to get him to go.
Or in his own words: "This time they crossed the line."
As part of the reflection of your life, as you defined it, do you think that the authorities listened to you or followed you in Moscow?
"I don't think I was listened to, I know that I was listened to, and to every word. My basic assumption was that they heard my every word. I heard stories about rabbis in the BRYAM in the 90s who were also listened to in the bathroom, and I felt sympathy, although today I suppose that the listening is much more Electronic and efficient.
And they weren't just looking for me.
It is clear that the government wants to know in detail what every citizen is doing, especially important citizens, so it is clear that they listened to me."
Were you afraid to smile in all your years there?
"I didn't fear for my life, even though, as mentioned, there were several attempts to make me leave Russia since Putin's arrival."
"I spoke with Zeev Elkin"
Since then, Rabbi Goldschmidt left Russia, replacing him in his position as his deputy.
At the meeting of the Conference of Rabbis of Europe, held last May in Munich, he defined himself as the "Rabbi of the Diaspora of Moscow" - a title he carries on his own behalf to this day.
In the meantime, the Jewish community in Moscow decided to oust him, in a public letter it published on the subject.
Were you angry about the dismissal? It was published one month after you were approved for seven more years in office.
"Why? I'm not angry with the community, because I was ousted by consent. I realized that as soon as I go against the government and the war - if I stay in my position, I will endanger the community."
By the way, did you have a chance to talk to your student, minister Ze'ev Elkin, about Israel's position regarding Ukraine?
"I talked to Elkin about it. If there is anyone who is an expert in this field - it's him. His concerns and mine are similar."
To the question of what exactly came up in their conversations, Rabbi Goldschmidt flatly refused to answer.
Do you believe that Israel should take a more unequivocal position in favor of Ukraine, as you did?
"I see things from my point of view, as the rabbi of Europe, but the Prime Minister of Israel, who sits and worries about the security of the people of Israel, sees it from a different angle. I pray that the government will make the best decisions. If the Israeli government wants to consult with me, I will be happy to help, and it doesn't matter who will stand at its head.
In Jerusalem, this week.
"Many Jews decided to leave Russia because the future is in the dark, and it is getting darker and darker", photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"Israel is in a very difficult situation in this war. On the one hand, it is part of the West, the USA's greatest friend, but on the other hand, it is trying to maintain normal relations with Russia because of Syria.
That's why she walks a tightrope.
I understand that the government in Russia does not like this tightrope walk for the past seven years."
Rabbi Goldschmidt also refers to the crisis recorded in recent weeks between Russia and Israel, due to Russia's demand to close the activities of the Jewish Agency in its area.
Israel Hayom announced last week that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, more than 50,000 people have arrived in Israel from Russia, including nearly 20,000 who made aliyah.
In the Kremlin, it seems, they don't like the fact that the Jewish Agency is helping an organized escape from the country - which is not good for Russia from an image point of view.
"I'm sure that for anyone who leaves, it's a very difficult decision, because it's a drastic change, also in the quality of life. Moscow is a big and mighty city in many respects, but they decided to leave because the future is shrouded in fog, and it's getting blacker. You have to understand that it's definitely possible that the Iron Curtain will close The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that soon it may not be possible to get visas to the West. In Belarus, which today is more of a Russian province than a sovereign state, they passed a law that gives the KGB (where they kept the old name; HG) the ability to arrest anyone who wants to leave the country .
"The basic premise that gives everyone the right to live where they want - is being thrown from under the feet of the citizens in Russia. There is a danger to the Jews. There is no doubt. The Jewish community is a hostage in this diplomatic war between Russia and Israel, and this is not a situation in which the Jewish community should live. It is a situation Very dangerous.
"Another reason Jews are leaving is the problem of anti-Semitism. There are several red lights that have been lit recently. The controversy over the closing of the Jewish Agency, the words of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, who said that 'Hitler also had Jewish blood'. There were also arrests from within the academy. A Jewish professor was arrested Although he was terminally ill, and he died in custody. And he is not the only one. 70 years after Stalin's 'doctors' trial, there is a fear that we are seeing it happen again."
On top of that, says Rabbi Goldschmidt, the economic concern plays a significant role in the desire of many to leave Russia.
"Many turn to me with the question of whether to leave or not, because they say they fear for the future of their children. People understand that tomorrow will be worse than today. I am doing everything to help the Jews in Russia to leave."
Now Goldschmidt works publicly as the president of the Conference of Rabbis of Europe, but according to him, even the hat of the exiled rabbi of Moscow is still very significant for him.
"Many of my actions now are done in order to represent, as I see it, the Jewish community in the city and in the country," he declares.
A few days after our conversation, he left for the USA, and continued from there to one of the exile communities of Ukrainian Jews. "Everything to save souls."
Do you believe you will ever get to return to Moscow?
"A Jew must be optimistic. Our house is still there, locked. With God's help one day we will return to Moscow."
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