Just Look and Remember JUST LOOK AND REMEMBER Memories of Bygone Days by Rabbi Nathan Barkan Chief Rabbi of Riga and Latvia Translated by Helena Belova Edited by Gary Feitelberg and Elana Schachter Page 1 Just Look and Remember FOREWORD Hundreds of books have been written about events in the Soviet Union during the tragic years of the reign of the Communist party and the KGB. However, the world knows almost nothing about the incredible, heroic and victorious struggle of the Chassidim – followers of the Lubavitcher Rebbe – against the Communist policy of forced assimilation of all Jews. This struggle bore a strong resemblance to the events in ancient Israel more than two millennia ago. Then, in a similar struggle of the few against the many, the Hashmonaim conquered the Hellenists, and the Almighty caused a miracle with a jar of oil in the Beit Hamikdash, which we commemorate on Chanuka. The struggle of the Chassidim in the former Soviet Union not only achieved its goal – preservation of Jewish education and Jewish identity, at least among a minority of Jews – it clearly demonstrated that the mighty power of the Communists is surmountable. Rabbi Nathan Barkan, the Chief Rabbi of Latvia, the author of this book, was one of the pillars of this struggle. The story of the hero of this book, Meir Sorkin, has little in common with Rabbi Barkan’s biography. Nevertheless, those who know Rabbi Barkan will easily recognize that many of Meir’s thoughts and emotions are indeed characteristic of Rabbi Barkan. The book is permeated with the spirit of the teachings and guidance of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, whose miraculous powers made the struggle both possible and victorious. The Rebbe leads both the characters in the book and people in the real world to the final redemption and to the kingdom of Moshiach. The author introduces us to a world which is unfamiliar to most of us, and therefore at first glance seems unreal, but the more we read, the more real this world becomes. As one of the many people whom Rabbi Barkan helped make the long journey from atheism to a Jewish lifestyle and world outlook, to do Teshuva, I want to express my infinite admiration and gratitude to him for yet another wonderful deed. Professor Herman Branover 15th Tevet 5759 16 January 1999 Page 2 Just Look and Remember Dedicated to my helpmate and true friend, My wife Zipporah, and to my devoted friend, Professor Herman Branover, In recognition of our exceptional, unfaltering 37-year-long friendship. August, 1997 Page 3 Just Look and Remember PREFACE In the past I destroyed my diaries and notes, so I am going to describe here those little things that remain in my memory, so as not to consign them to oblivion. This story is not intended for a wide range of readers, but it seems to me that readers in the younger generation might be interested in the past and in the way of life of people in the former Soviet Union whose luck saved them from arrests and labor camps. All the events described in this book actually took place; I have only changed the names of people and places. Rabbi Nathan Barkan, Chief Rabbi of Riga and Latvia Page 4 Just Look and Remember Table of Contents JUST LOOK AND REMEMBER.......................................................................................1 Memories of Bygone Days..............................................................................................1 FOREWORD.......................................................................................................................2 PREFACE............................................................................................................................4 Chapter One.........................................................................................................................7 MEIR’S DEPARTURE...................................................................................................7 Chapter Two......................................................................................................................10 YUD TET KISLEV IN KFAR CHABAD (19th of Kislev - the day the Alter Rebbe was released from Peter-and-Paul fortress in 1870)........................................................................................10 Chapter Three....................................................................................................................13 A MEETING WITH YANKELE..................................................................................13 Chapter Four......................................................................................................................14 SABBATH IN KFAR CHABAD..................................................................................14 Chapter Five.......................................................................................................................17 THE HISTORY OF KFAR CHABAD..........................................................................17 Chapter Six........................................................................................................................19 A LETTER FROM THE REBBE..................................................................................19 Chapter Seven....................................................................................................................20 A VISIT TO THE SUEZ CANAL.................................................................................20 Chapter Eight.....................................................................................................................22 AT YANKELE’S HOUSE ON KIBBUTZ...................................................................22 Chapter Nine......................................................................................................................24 A VISIT TO THE REBBE............................................................................................24 Chapter Ten.......................................................................................................................28 MEIR’S FIRST YECHIDUS.........................................................................................28 Chapter Eleven...................................................................................................................30 IN HIS NATIVE LAND................................................................................................30 Chapter Twelve..................................................................................................................33 THE DISPUTE..............................................................................................................33 Chapter Thirteen................................................................................................................37 THE TRIAL: HEARING THE RABBI’S CASE..........................................................37 Chapter Fourteen...............................................................................................................40 THE RABBI’S DEATH................................................................................................40 Chapter Fifteen..................................................................................................................42 THE DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD (The arrest and release of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Yosef Yitzhak Schneerson)........................42 Chapter Sixteen..................................................................................................................44 THE ARREST OF MOISHE AHARON.......................................................................44 Chapter Seventeen.............................................................................................................47 MOISHE AHARON’S DEATH....................................................................................47 Chapter Eighteen...............................................................................................................49 MIRIAM........................................................................................................................49 Page 5 Just Look and Remember Chapter Nineteen...............................................................................................................51 MEIR’S STUDY AT A VOCATIONAL SCHOOL.....................................................51 Chapter Twenty.................................................................................................................53 MEIR’S SISTER RIVKA, AND YOSEF.........................................................................53 Chapter Twenty-One.........................................................................................................58 THE ARREST OF LENA GLOMB..............................................................................58 Chapter Twenty-Two.........................................................................................................61 NO WAY TO ESCAPE.................................................................................................61 Chapter Twenty-Three.......................................................................................................63 SHNEUR ZALMAN VERBIN......................................................................................63 Chapter Twenty-Four.........................................................................................................64 THE WAR.....................................................................................................................64