EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
Freedom's Call
A
Identity Building
lbina Pinkhasov, 24, was born in the former
Other Russian kids weren't so luc
Soviet Union (FSU), where ignorance about Jews
Albina met some of her best Russian friends at Berkley's
could be demeaning. Every Passover, she pays
Avery
Elementary School. She was surprised by how many
homage to the freedom she enjoys in America.
didn't
know
what it meant to be Jewish or didn't know they
About to graduate from Wayne State University in Detroit,
were
Jewish.
Together, they explored their Jewish identity.
she spent her first 10 years in Tashkent, the capital of
I'm
impressed
that Albina holds Jewish traditions so dear to
Muslim-dominated Uzbekistan in Central Asia. Independent
her
heart
amid
the
temptations of assimilation.
since 1990, Uzbekistan now has 20,000 Jews, 10 percent of
"I
know
that
just
being born Jewish is not enough," she
its post-World War II total.
said.
"Judaism
is
not
only a religion, but also a culture, and it
Albina is grateful for Detroit Jewry's embrace of her family
should
be
honored."
and outreach to Russian immigrants. Jewish
Close friend Lana Goldstein, a West Bloomfield neighbor
Family Service has been a godsend in help-
from
the Ukraine in the FSU, says even as a rebellious
ing the family become part of our commu-
teenager,
Albina "managed to remain loyal to her faith."
nity.
"She
has
always stressed that the Jewish faith helped her
Khana and Albert. Pinkhasov brought their
family
through
a lot of tough times, and she wouldn't dream
two children to Oak Park from Tashkent in
.
of
abandoning
it,"
Goldstein said.
1989 in search of proper care for younger
Albina's
parents
are simple, hard-working people who only
child Artur, who has a hearing challenge.
wanted
the
best
for
their children, socially and spiritually.
They also were eager to reap America's boun-
Her
father,
who
trained
as an opera singer, operates a
ROBERT A. tY. The number of Jews from the former
Clinton
Township
barbershop.
Her mother, a Tashkent book-
FSU beckoned by metro Detroit is estimated
SKLAR
keeper,
is
now
a
manicurist
in
Southfield.
to be between 10,000 and 18,000.
Editor
Artur, her brother, is 21. He attends the Rochester, N.Y.-
The Pinkhasovs moved to West
based
Rochester Institute of Technology, home to the
Bloomfield in 1997. Albina and I met by
National
Technical Institute for the Deaf I'm touched by
chance eight weeks ago and we quickly discovered our corn-
America's
role in his turnaround.
mon roots. My paternal lineage extends to Minsk in Belarus,
"Doctors
in Russia did not have the ability to treat Artur
also in the FSU.
and
give
him
the appropriate tools to overcome his difficul-
"Most Americans don't realize how much we actually take
ties,"
Albina
said.
"The only treatment the doctors knew was
for granted," Albina said last Sunday.
to
inject
him
with various drugs. Needless to say,
For Jews, freedom in all its forms radiates from the
injecting
him
with drugs did not help."
Passover story: how the Hebrews, led by Moses and
His
life
turned
around thanks to specialists at
inspired by God, united to repel religious intoler-
William
Beaumont
Hospital in Royal Oak.
ance.
"They
took
him
off
all of the drugs and gave him a
The Pinkhasovs weren't held in bondage in
hearing
aid,"
Albina
said.
Tashkent, like the Israelites were in Egypt, but at
"They also told us to enroll him in a school that is
times they felt enslaved by a society that looked at
equipped to handle children with special needs. And
Jews through a prism of stereotypes.
my parents did just that."
Times haven't changed. Islamic anti-Semitism is
Pinkhas ov
Albina finds joy in helping him learn via e-mail.
on the rise in the FSU — "triggered by the Israeli-
"So
far," she said, "he is doing very well."
Palestinian conflict and an anti-American animus,"
reports the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Family Ties
I've found Albina to be engaging, articulate, determined
and proud to be a Jew.
Preparing for Passover was special for the Pinkhasovs when
A 1997 Berkley High graduate, Albina works part-time at
, they lived in Tashkent.
Chico's women's apparel in West Bloomfield, but hopes to
They disposed of chametz. They boiled extra dishes in salt-
enter Jewish communal work. In May, she'll earn a bachelor's
water to complete a kosher-for-Passover set. And in Babulya
degree in public relations from Wayne State.
Raya's kitchen, they kashered chickens caught in the yard,
"I want to give back as.much as I can to make a difference
plus made fresh matzah, gefilte fish and fried fish.
of some kind," she said.
When the holiday arrived, Albina cherished "being sur-
It wasn't easy being Jewish in Tashkent, but Albina drew
rounded by family members while eating, laughing and shar-
strength from her family. There were no synagogues or
ing memories and stories."
kosher markets, and anti-Semitism lurked, but the
She misses that closeness.
Pinkhasovs followed tradition as best they could.
"Celebrating the Jewish holidays in America is easier than
"I was lucky to grow up in a family where being Jewish was
it used to be in Tashkent," she said, "but we are not together
an honor to be celebrated each day," Albina said. "My family
as we once were.
didn't know any other way to live."
Her family has settled in Israel and Florida as well as New
She recalls the beauty of Shabbat at the Tashkent home of
York. So keeping family ties strong isn't easy. The pressure of
her maternal grandmother, Raya Muratov, now a New
balancing demands from a hectic schedule doesn't help.
Yorker. "It was expected for everyone to get together at
Time will tell if she's up to the challenge.
Babulya Raya's house — to watch 'all the women light can-
But from what I can see, Albina Pinkhasov will never
dles, then greet each other with a hug, a kiss and a `Shabbat
forego nurturing family bonds.
Shalom.' This is what I grew up with. I consider myself
As she put it, "During this Passover, I will think about the
lucky. I had a strong grandmother, who taught her children
days when we're all happily together. Maybe one day, we can
what it means being a Jew, and my mom taught me."
all be together again."
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❑
4/11
2003
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