Russia’s Subbotnik Jews celebrate Rosh Hashana with new Shavei Israel publications

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Cover of new Jewish calendar in Russian for Subbotnik Jewish community

Shavei Israel has just released two new publications for the Subbotnik Jewish communities in Russia and Israel: a new Jewish calendar in Russian and a booklet about the High Holy Days, covering Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, also in Russian.

Rosh Hashana falls on the first and second days of the Hebrew months of Tishrei and is the start of the Jewish New Year, making the debut of the new Russian calendar particularly timely. Hundreds of copies of the calendar as well as the holiday guide have been printed and distributed in Visoky (where a Subbotnik Jewish community in Russia still resides) and Beit Shemesh, home to hundreds of Subbotnik Jews who have made aliyah.

The guide contains a full description of the holiday, with explanations on what prayers and blessings are said, the symbolism and meaning of key customs, and essays in Russian on the topics of repentance and return. There are also several recipes for classic holiday dishes and a section on the Rosh Hashana “Seder.”

The Hebrew word seder means “order” and, similar to the Passover Seder, there is also a set of customs which observant Jews follow “in order” while sitting down to dinner on the first night of Rosh Hashana.

The tradition, which originated in the days of the Talmud with Rabbi Abaye, is to make blessings on various foods, which symbolize our hopes and prayers for the New Year. In addition to the well-known custom of dipping an apple in honey, other vegetables and foods featured in the Rosh Hashana Seder often include pomegranates, dates, pumpkin, leeks, onions, green beans, and spinach.

Before eating the pomegranate, for example, dinner guests proclaim, “May we be as full of mitzvot as the pomegranate is full of seeds.” Before eating the apple, participants say in unison, “May it be Your will, G-d, to renew us for a good and sweet year.”

Also on Rosh Hashana, there is always at least one new seasonal fruit or vegetable for which the shehechiyanu prayer can be recited: “Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion.”

We have pictures below from the pre-Rosh Hashana Subbotnik Jewish celebration in Beit Shemesh, where community members received the new holiday guide and took part in a “mini” Rosh Hashana seder conducted by Rabbi Zelig Avrasin, Shavei Israel’s emissary to Russia, who is in Israel for the holiday season.

Cover of new guide to Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot

Shavei Israel’s coordinator for the Subbotnik Jewish community, Esther Surikova reports that, “the atmosphere at the celebration was really magnificent, with many members of the community volunteering to speak about the history of Visoky and their lives now in Israel. Among them was Fira Michailovna Matveeva, the daughter of one of the founders of the village who provided a unique personal perspective.” Rabbi Avrasin also led a quiz where one of the “prizes” was a taste of Russian honey he had brought back from Visoky especially for the occasion. The Rosh Hashana celebration marks one year since this group in Beit Shemesh began meeting regularly, with Shavei Israel’s help.

The new Jewish calendar has as its theme “Torah Scholars of the 20^th and 21^st Centuries.” Each month highlights one of the most important rabbis of the last 100 years, including Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, and former Israeli Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. There are also pictures interspersed throughout the calendar from the Visoky community: celebrations, studying and everyday life.

The new publications follow Shavei Israel’s other booklets in Russian covering the Jewish holidays of Shavuot, Tu B’Shvat and Hanukah.

The Subbotnik Jews are descendants of Russian peasants who converted to Judaism in the early 19th century under the rule of Czar Alexander I. Many studied in some of the great yeshivas of Lithuania, while thousands more immigrated to Israel starting with the “Second Aliyah” in the late 1800s. The name “Subbotnik” comes from their love of the “Subbbota,” Russian for Sabbath.

We’ll have more news from Visoky, including a report on the dedication of the community’s new synagogue, in upcoming issues of Shavei Israel’s Roots newsletter.

Here are a few pictures from the Beit Shemesh celebration: