Join me on a journey to Kaliningrad, Russia, to hear about a modern-day Chanukah miracle.
In September of 2011, Lena, a sophisticated young woman arrived at the office of Rabbi David Shvedik, Federation of Jewish Communities representative and emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Kaliningrad. "Lena applied for a position as an English teacher at the local Ohr Avner Day school. But she had no teaching experience so we could not hire her. She told me that she had not worked in many, many months. She would be willing to take any job that we could offer," recalls Rabbi Shvedik. "I explained that the only other work we had was in our soup kitchen, setting and clearing the tables. She jumped at the opportunity."
Rabbi Shvedik continues; "Curious as to what had brought her to us, I asked Lena if she had any Jewish connections. 'My lineage is a mixture of many nationalities, but none of them are Jewish,' Lena explained.
"One day, a few weeks into her job, Lena came into my office looking quite distraught. 'I have to be honest with you. I feel guilty working here! You are such nice people! Throughout my entire life, I grew up hearing the Jewish people constantly being demeaned and mocked. Even in my own home, I heard comments from my parents regularly about how miserly and greedy the Jews are.
"'I have been supporting my elderly mother for many years now. I lost my job months ago and we were able to live on the little bit of money I had put away. But the savings ran out and my mother's small pension is not enough to pay the rent and buy food.
"'Suddenly I started hearing a "different tune" from my mother. Instead of cursing and insulting the Jews, she said, "Winter is coming soon. We will need to pay for rent and food! The Jews are good people. They never turn anyone away. They will help. Even when they have very little, they share what they have. If they cannot offer you a job they will at least offer you food."'
"'I was upset that my mother's change of heart was because she wanted to exploit the Jewish people. Although I had never subscribed to the prevailing anti-Semitic attitudes, I was ashamed to ask the Jews for help now that we were in need. That is why I was so happy that you were able to give me work, no matter how menial.'
"I listened as Lena unburdened herself. I told her that she is a good person, that she is doing a fine, honest job and that we are happy to employ her. I encouraged her to take home food from the soup kitchen at night for her mother. Lena left my office looking much calmer."
Kaliningrad has one of 45 FJC-sponsored soup kitchens and one of 159 FJC-sponsored educational institutions throughout the Former Soviet Union.
One of the many programs at the Kaliningrad Jewish Community Centre is "STARS." STARS is a Jewish educational and social club for young adults. On the second night of Chanukah, STARS held a fun and informative event. Recalls Rabbi Shvedik, "I noticed that Lena had stayed late that night after work. She was sitting at the back of the room where the program was taking place. Halfway through the program, she hurried out.
"I didn't give it too much thought until the next day when Lena burst into my office. The words tumbled out. 'I left the Chanukah event, went straight home and confronted my mother. "Why when we were growing up did you always say such horrible things about the Jews but now that we are in need you have changed your tune? The Jews I meet today are generous, moral, educated people. The Jews of your days lived ethical, inspired lives despite persecution and hatred. And the Jews of ancient times, like the Maccabees, dared to fight for their beliefs and to make the world a brighter place!
"'My mother was silent for what seemed like an eternity. And then she began to cry. And through her tears, I heard her say the following: "Your grandmother, my mother, was a Jew! She lived through the war, through persecution and humiliation because she was a Jew. And she promised herself that her children and her children's children would never suffer for being Jews. So she raised us as non-Jews. And she instilled in us a bitterness toward all things Jewish so that we would never be associated with or associate with Jews."'
"'I was stunned by my mother's revelation! I had visited my grandmother in Chernigov, Ukraine, many times as a youngster. I had never imagined that she was a Jew, that my mother is a Jew, that I am a Jew!'"
Rabbi Shvedik immediately sent a request to the registry office in Chernigov to verify that Lena's grandmother, who had since passed away, was registered as a Jew. Before the day ended, they received a response that affirmed her Jewishness.
The next night, at 7:00 p.m., Lena finished cleaning the dining room of the soup kitchen. She had helped serve 100 of Kaliningrad's elderly or indigent Jewish men and women. She went into the lady's room with a small bag she had brought with her to work. She emerged a little while later wearing a beautiful turquoise dress, her hair neatly brushed, her cheeks glowing and her eyes twinkling.
Lena was attending the Chanukah Menorah lighting at the Kaliningrad JCC. It would be her first time celebrating Chanukah. It would be her first time attending a Jewish event as a proud Jew. Rabbi Shvedik calls it "a modern-day Chanukah miracle."
This past year, Lena has been sharing with her mother everything she learns at the STARS events and other programs she attends at the JCC. And her mother has agreed to come to a Chanukah event this year!
“My joy will be complete," Lena says, "when my mother steps into a Jewish building for the first time in her life. That will be a true Chanukah miracle, a real victory for the Maccabees."
