For three decades, Torah MiTzion has sent Religious Zionist educators to Jewish communities around the world, reaching thousands of Jews each year. Ahead of the 30th anniversary Gala Celebrations, Rabbi Aron White spoke with Rabbi David Yushubayev, who led the Torah MiTzion kollel in Moscow for more than two decades. What began as a one-year commitment in a city he describes as a spiritual desert became a 25-year project that brought thousands of Russian Jews back to their heritage and homeland. This is his story.

Before we turn to Torah MiTzion, tell us where your own story begins.

I was born in the Soviet Union and grew up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Judaism was part of my background, but only in a very limited sense. As a child, I knew a little about Pesach and matzah, but we were very far from observing Torah and mitzvot. Shabbat and keeping kosher were simply not part of our lives.

We immigrated to Israel when I was 11 years old, and my life began to change. Through a combination of circumstances and what I believe was Divine Providence, I was accepted to a religious yeshiva high school in Bat Yam – even though I didn’t wear a kippah and tzitzit to my interview! From there I continued to Yeshivat Hakotel, served in the army, and went on to study in kollel.

Then, in the 1990s, the great immigration from the former Soviet Union began. There was an enormous thirst among the new immigrants for Jewish knowledge and connection. Because I spoke the language and understood the background, I was asked to become involved.

We organized programs, seminars and classes, and helped with the spiritual absorption of many new immigrants. At Yeshivat Hakotel, together with the heads of the yeshiva, we opened an ulpan for young Jews arriving from the Soviet Union. We also arranged dozens of britot for people who had previously had almost no connection to Judaism.

Around the same time, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz asked me to help with his yeshiva in Moscow. It was one of the first serious Jewish educational institutions established there after the Iron Curtain came down. After I got married, Rabbi Steinsaltz asked me to become the head of the yeshiva. My wife, our child and I moved to Moscow for a year. It was an extraordinary experience. There were many visitors and students, people who were hungry to learn. Eventually the yeshiva developed into more of a seminar program for teachers, and we returned to Israel.

A few years later, Zeev Schwartz approached me about establishing a Religious Zionist learning center in Moscow. I initially thought that chapter of my life was over; I was married, had children, and was living and working in Israel. But the request was persistent, and eventually we decided to go for one year – which became 25!

What did Jewish Moscow look like when you arrived?

It was really a spiritual desert. The main synagogue was attended largely by elderly people. There were very few young people and families, and there was tremendous isolation.

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the Chief Rabbi of Moscow at the time, very much wanted this initiative to happen, as did the Jewish Agency. There were very few Zionist frameworks in Moscow, and they wanted to create something that would connect young Jews not only to Judaism but also to Israel and Zionism. We had young men and families involved, and the students took part in many different educational and community activities.

Over time, however, I felt we needed to reach a younger audience. There were many young Jews who were not connected to the Jewish schools or to any organized Jewish framework, and we had to find a way to reach them. So we began a program for young people, supported through scholarships. Today that young-adult program is really our flagship.

Over the past six years we have also developed activities specifically for teenagers. Some attend Jewish schools, while others have no connection to any Jewish educational framework. They come to weekly programs, holiday activities and Shabbat events.

What kind of impact has that had?

The impact has been extraordinary. I have photographs of many weddings of young people who came through the program. Couples have told us directly that without Torah MiTzion in Moscow, they doubt they would have built Jewish homes.

Think about what that means. Young people who might never have met, never have connected to Judaism, or never have built a Jewish family found that connection through our community.

And it isn’t only the couples who became fully observant. Many others built Jewish homes, strengthened their connection to Judaism, began keeping Shabbat or kashrut, and became more involved in Jewish life.

You also built a permanent home for all of this activity.

Yes. With G-d’s help, over a period of about five years we were able to build our own beit midrash and Torah MiTzion building in central Moscow, close to the central synagogue.

We also have extensive activities for women and for families, including classes and community programs. Our events can attract hundreds of people. We organize large programs around the Jewish holidays – at one hotel in central Moscow, more than 300 people have taken part in a communal seder – and we run programs for adults and families throughout the year.

Thank G-d, it has been incredibly successful and fruitful.

Is there one story that captures what Torah MiTzion has achieved?

There are many, but I’ll tell you about one family.

The husband was very learned and deeply committed to Torah and mitzvot, while his wife was very far from Judaism and did not want to hear about it. Their differences had become so great that they were on the verge of divorce. It happened to be just before Purim, and we were holding a Purim meal at our school. The husband asked his wife to come with their child. She didn’t want to, but eventually she agreed to bring the child.

Years later she told us that something happened to her that day. She walked into the building, and somehow her entire heart changed. She couldn’t even explain exactly what had happened, but she decided that she wanted her child to continue learning about Judaism – and that she wanted to begin a journey herself. Today they are not only together; they are among the leaders of the Jewish community in Moscow.

There are many stories like this. People who never imagined they would become observant. People who began keeping Shabbat or kashrut. People who found their Jewish identity and built Jewish homes.

I still hear stories today about things that happened through Torah MiTzion that I never even knew about.

How does Aliyah and the connection to Israel fit into your work?

That is another important part of what we do. Many people who were involved with us eventually immigrated to Israel.

We are also very strongly Zionist. In fact, throughout Russia and the former Soviet Union there are very few institutions that combine a strong Jewish religious identity with an explicit connection to Israel and Zionism.

We speak about Yom HaAtzmaut, Yom Yerushalayim, the IDF and the connection between Jewish life and the State of Israel. That message is an integral part of our educational work.

After 25 years in Moscow, I returned to Israel a few years ago. Today I continue to help from a distance, supporting and guiding the work there.

Looking back, I originally went for one year. I never imagined that one year would become 25. But when you see the families, the young people, the weddings and the renewed Jewish lives, you understand that every year was worthwhile.