the Jews (from the Soviet
point of view), because many
Jews would stay, because of
intermarriage, because of
brainwashing."
The young religious Soviet
Jew finds himself in a
Catch-22 situation, he ex-
plained. University classes
are held on Shabbat, so a Jew
must decide what to do about
Shabbat. If he does not
attend his classes, he will be
expelled from the university.
If this happens, he faces
army service and a ten to 15
year refusal after he is dis-
charged. If he decides to go to
classes, said the rabbi, then
what about Shabbat?
Rabbi Essas, 40, spoke to
his audience in fluent
English, choosing his words
for their precision, perhaps a
reflection of his initial educa-
tion as a mathematician.
Raised in Vilna, Essas re-
ceived a secular education. It
was after the 1967 Six-Day
War that he became in-
terested in Judaism and
Zionism.
He studied briefly at the
Moscow rabbinical seminary,
but was expelled in 1972
after he applied for an exit
visa to Israel. At the same
time, he was dismissed from
his position as lecturer in
mathematics at the Moscow
Institute of Medicine.
The application was denied
on the grounds that his wife,
an acoustical engineer, had
done "classified" work for the
Soviet government in 1970.
Rabbi Essas continued his
studies on his own, reaching
a high level of erudition and
concluding that the Torah is
the source of Jewish identity.
He received a private ordina-
tion.
The students he taught
during this period of refusal
in turn taught others. Over
time, Rabbi Essas began to
draw a following and became
the revered leader of the baal
teshuvah movement in the
USSR.
The movement surrounding
him has taken on almost
Chassidic overtones, a situa-
tion which distresses Rabbi
Essas, who comes from the
rationalist stream of
Judaism, a tradition which
eschews charismatic leaders
like the Chassidic rebbes.
"I try to discourage my
talmidim (students) to behave
in this way," he said simply.
"It's a natural effect to treat
someone you respect, but I
want to discourage the copy-
ing of my behavior by
others."
He said he was "annoyed"
by the arguments currently
rife in the Jewish world, over
whether quiet diplomacy or
public . pressure is the right
recipe to free Soviet Jewry;
annoyed because "in my view
it's no problem at all."
"Without public pressure,
the (American) administra-
tion will not be interested in
0
yr
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4
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