82 256
JANUARY 13, 2022 | The Jewish Home JANUARY 13, 2022 | The Jewish Home
The Wandering
Jew
A Memorable Shabbos in Kishinev By Hershel Lieber
M
y involvement with the Yeshiva of Kishinev, Moldova, began in the summer of 1994. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel in 1980, I was involved in many of their projects. During the summer of 1994 I went with Pesi for a week to the outskirts of Kishinev to the Yeshiva’s summer camp which was geared for teenage boys and girls. I gave a number of shiurim to the campers, while Pesi engaged them in arts and crafts. We developed a meaningful relationship with the teenagers, so much so, that it inspired us to go again in 1996, this time for the entire Pesach together with our two younger children. That second trip sealed our fate for good. Within a short time, I joined Rav Moshe Eisemann of the Vaad in taking over the reins of running the yeshiva. This involved everything from hiring the Rosh Yeshiva and his staff, to making decisions concerning the curriculum. It included overseeing our non-Jewish manager and, above all, raising funds for our schools. All these obligations presented a myriad of difficulties, but raising funds was the most problematic of all. When I look back to the period from 1996 until the yeshiva closed in 2007, I cannot believe that we raised over two million
With a Yiddishe neshama
dollars to support our project! Our donors included both individuals and charitable organizations. Our methods revolved around personal solicitations and parlor meetings. Another method we employed in raising funds was through organizing trips for potential donors to see our yeshiva and to experience what we had accomplished with our students. We would invite an important personality to lead the trip and solicit people of means to join the adventure. Our
program was multifaceted and included interesting tours and activities. At the same time, we highlighted our educational achievements and showed with our students. Over the years, we conducted at least seven of these trips, each one bringing between fifteen and twenty-five participants to our yeshiva in Kishinev. The monetary success of these trips varied greatly, but they all played a role in balancing our budget. The Vaad was running a number of other projects in other cities of the
Delegates of the Vaad, front row, L-R Rabbi Rosen, Rabbi Fisher, Rabbi Neustadt, Rav Matisyahu Salomon, me, and Rabbi Schwartz
former Soviet Union. When the Vaad organized trips, it would include other cities such as St. Petersburg, Tbilisi, Baku, Kuba, and occasionally Moscow, as well as Kishinev. During the trip in 1999, Kishinev was the last city on the itinerary, which meant that all the potential donors had already committed themselves to various undertakings in the cities that they visited previously. When they finally arrived in Kishinev, although they were truly impressed with our progress, their contributions to our yeshiva were not substantial. For the following year, I insisted that our city and our yeshiva be the first stop of the journey. I persevered, and the group was set to arrive Erev Shabbos, December 9, 2000. Pesi and I arrived the preceding Wednesday, and we began the monumental job of organizing every aspect of the weekend schedule. All Wednesday, we were assisted immensely by the staff of the school, our Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Moshe Baudilovsky, Rabbi and Mrs. Yehoshua and Shulamis Kwit who headed our girls’ school, Sergei Durlestan, our manager, and a very talented bochur Moshe Herman, who volunteered in running our summer camps for a number of years and came to Kishinev quite often throughout the year. The hotel rooms for the guests were booked ahead of time, and bus transportation was arranged. In the kitchens of both the boys’ and girls’ buildings, the chefs were busy cooking up a storm. The students were prepped about what to expect and how important it would be that their behavior be at the best. On Thursday after davening with the boys, I joined Pesi at the girls’ school where we directed the staff how to set the Shabbos tables for the seudos and how to prepare the lobby for the Kabbalas Shabbos davening. The plan was that the visitors would join the girls Friday night and go to the boys’ yeshiva during Shabbos day.
