Risking lives for the education of others
Risking lives for the education of others Jews in Communist Russia risk their lives to ensure Jewish continuity. by Rabbi Zushe Greenberg
Last month, my grandmother Leah Chazan passed away in Israel at the age of 82. I remember her as a woman who allowed and encouraged my grandfather Rabbi Aaron Chazan to undertake a challenge that placed his life in danger. My grandparents lived in Russia in the darkest time of Jewish history. During World War II, they fled from the advancing German front to a city in Southern Russia called Tashkent. Upon arriving there, they met a group of Chabad Chasidim who had organized underground Jewish schools to ensure Jewish continuity. The schools were held in secret because, at that time, teaching Judaism was illegal. Punishment was many years in Siberian prisons, or labor camps. As a result of the harsh laws, and severe penalties which were meted out unmercifully, Jewish education came to a complete halt, and the majority of the Jewish children had no idea what the word "Jew" meant. In Tashkent, like in many other communities in Russia, the Chabad families risked their lives to run secret schools. They knew it was the only way to ensure Jewish continuity. In the winter of 1944, a Chasidic Rabbi approached my grandfather, Rabbi Aaron Chazan, may he be well. He asked him for his help in arranging new schools. The Rabbi said, " Our children already receive a good Jewish education, but who will take care of the rest of the Jewish children in the community ? We must make sure that the Jewish nation doesn't lose them! We are looking for a person like you to be in charge of this risky and dangerous undertaking," he appealed. " We will provide the funds for all the expenses. You must make sure everything runs smoothly without the authorities suspecting." My grandmother Leah, of blessed memory, knew very well that if he would be caught, she would be left alone to raise her young children. Nevertheless, she urged him to meet the challenge and offered her full cooperation in any area needed. The hardest task was convincing parents to allow their children to attend the secret schools