At the culminating moment of the evening, the President of the World Congress of Bukharian Jews, Mr. Lev Leviev, was invited to the podium. He addressed the gathering with a speech filled with emotion and reverence:
«Before me are the greatest rabbis of our generation, the Chief Rabbis of Israel, heads of yeshivas, spiritual mentors of communities, Torah scholars, and thousands of students. I am convinced that today we have witnessed a truly historic day for all Bukharian Jewry.
I am certain that none of those who once built the Bukharian Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem would have dared to even dream of such a day. Even my grandfather, Rabbi Zvulun Leviev, of blessed memory, who was arrested and exiled to Siberia for teaching young children the basics of the Torah – he too could not have imagined that decades later his descendants would gather under one roof with thousands of Torah scholars, yeshiva students, and avrekhim from the Bukharian community.
Today is a day of triumph for Bukharian Jewry. It is a day of consolation for the souls of our ancestors who fought and perished for the sanctification of God’s Name, to preserve the spark of the Jewish spirit through the ages. The fact that we are holding the ‘Keter Torah’ [Crown Torah] ceremony precisely during the days of ‘Chol Hamoed Pesach’ is inspired by the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe: holy deeds should be performed on holy days. This is a time when the people have completed their preparations for the holiday, and one can come to an event in an elevated, pure, and bright mood.
And so, this year we have the honor of sitting at one table with more than 4,000 Torah scholars and another 1,500 avrekhim. And together with their families, that’s more than 30,000 souls walking the path of Torah and mitzvot.
For some reason, many have been offering blessings to me this evening. And, I confess, it is certainly pleasant to hear, but I feel a certain awkwardness about it. I say to myself a hundred times: ‘Praise the Lord,’ because the whole point of what is happening is that one mitzvah leads to another, and therefore the main thing is to begin.
When we started the scholarship project for students within the framework of the Congress, our goal was simple: that young representatives of the Bukharian community could study and at the same time feel supported, relieved of one worry. Over these years, tens of thousands of students around the world have received assistance. Everywhere we go, people approach us – teachers, doctors, engineers – and say: ‘I received a scholarship from the Congress…’ or ‘my daughter-in-law received one…’ This is inspiring.
Over time, we decided to expand the project to yeshiva students as well. We started with 500 avrekhim. Then it became 1,500. Last year – 2,900. And this year, together with the yeshiva students – 5,500! Year after year, the program grows – and we thank the Almighty for this.
And the truth is, to see this hall filled with Torah scholars today is a miracle, a real miracle! I imagine our ancestors looking down from the Heavens, smiling, raising a glass, and saying, ‘L’chaim!’ – rejoicing for us, the continuers of the great relay race of generations of Bukharian Jewry.
Sixty years ago… I remember as a child in Samarkand feeling the greatness of the approaching Shabbat. Men dressed in white garments, with reverence and radiance on their faces, went to the synagogue. In those moments, it seemed to us that we were not in Central Asia, but in Jerusalem itself.
Years passed, the communist regime continued its cruel persecutions, suppressing everything holy. But the spark of the Jewish soul – the ‘gehelet’ – did not go out. My grandfather, Rabbi Zvulun Leviev, of blessed memory, was exiled to Siberia along with his comrades after they dared to challenge a death sentence. Only after Stalin’s death did they regain their freedom. They returned – and continued to carry the light of Torah, continued to preserve the spirit of Bukharian Jewry. And we – their descendants, the descendants of these holy prisoners, who were privileged not only to survive but also to remain Jews.
I often recall how the Lubavitcher Rebbe reacted when I joyfully informed him about the establishment of a Jewish educational center, a kindergarten, a cheder… He looked at me with his piercing gaze and said:
‘You can do much more!’
I was stunned. But these very words became a lifelong lesson for me: don’t be satisfied with yourself, even if you are applauded; don’t tell yourself – enough.
The Rebbe revealed another truth to us. In the Passover Haggadah, four sons are mentioned – but there is also a fifth. The one who is so far away that he doesn’t even sit at our table. We don’t know him, we don’t hear him, he is outside the circle of tradition. But it is precisely him that we must bring closer. So that the Father will see: we are united, we influence each other. Each of us is capable of awakening thousands of Jewish souls. And of doing much more than we ourselves can imagine.»
This was translated from Russian to English.
Leonid Elizarov