Soviet Jews will receive their Succoth species–esrogim, lulavim and hadassim–two weeks before American Jews will, Rabbi Pinchas Teitz of Elizabeth, N.J., reported today. Rabbi Teitz, a former member of the presidium of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency by telephone that he had been advised today by telephone that the shipments he had sent last Friday had been received and were appreciated “very much.” They will be distributed to Jews in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Wilna and Riga and “any remote place” in the Soviet Union they are needed, he said, adding that he had also sent taleisim for Jews in Kiev.
Rabbi Teitz, who had told the JTA earlier that he was sending 250 esrogim, said today that the total was “more than 250,” but declined to be specific. He said he could not explain why the Soviet authorities–who on a previous occasion allowed the species to rot in warehouses–had agreed to allow the deliveries this year. He added that the shipments had arrived without difficulties and without customs duties.
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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.
