An essay written by a Soviet Jew imprisoned in a Moscow jail during the recent Chanuka holiday was reported to the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry by a Moscow activist. In this moving work, the author portrays how six Soviet Jews celebrated the holiday with the assistance of a prison cook and doctor.
Despite the hardships, the prisoners prayed, “Blessed by You our Lord who has given us this holiday, this jail, this huge ark, this greatest comfort, You, who have let us understand how difficult and wonderful it is to be a Jew. Bless us Yochanan ben Mattityahu. Help us Shimon ben Mattityahu. Defend us Yehuda ben Mattityahu.”
The essay continued in part: “Can there be a Chanuka without song? Never. And the great prison became a magnificent hall while the round bars turned into microphones. For two hours the gloomy hall served up our songs, falling into dust the alien words and answering us with the silence of a super state. But we knew that Israel stood with us and so there was a place to sing to. Chag samayach. The year 5733. December. This year in Jerusalem.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
