Thursday is my new day of Mivtzoim. The idea came from hearing that in Novosibirsk, Rabbi Zaklos has a lunch-and-learn program of over 50 businessmen once a week.
That is unbelievably amazing, by Russian standards. How did he do it, and what does he teach? When I was in New York for the Kinus Hashluchim I asked him. He told me that it all began with him going on Mivtzoim. After a year or so, he brought up the idea of starting a 'lunch and learn' program for the businessmen, and his class grew. As a matter of fact, the class led to the building of his beautiful Shul.
In case you were wondering, he teaches Chumash and Rashi.
I'd been doing a small route each Friday, and after a discussion with Chayale, we decided to change it to Thursday, since A) Shabbos now comes in early, and B) she is starting 'Mommy and me' in our apartment on Thursday.
My route started at the Solomonov's, or rather, the restaurant where we made the Torah event. There I met Sasha and Kostya, and put Tefillin on both of them. They told me that their friends were coming from Pyatigorsk, and that they were Halachic Jews, so I waited for them and when they arrived, strapped them up in Tefillin too.
I also gave them all these little bags Chayale made containing 3 Sufganiyot, a dreidel, and chocolate coins from America. Chayale had put a little sticker on the ziploc bags, and written on it веселой и светой хануки, or 'have a happy and sweet Chanukah'. And I also had Menorahs with me, the classic Chabad gold metal ones with the colored candles.
Then we sat down for tea. As I sipped out of three stacked plastic cups and munched on fresh oranges, I found out that out that a brother of the Solomonov's, who is somewhat of a guru and spiritual guy who can heal people (apparently) by moving his hands around a person's face is moving to India. My mind flashed to Chabad of Mumbai and I toldthem that while he is going there to save other peoples souls, who is taking care of his soul? I then demanded they tell me which city he's ging so I can direct him to the local Chabad House. They promised to ask him and let me know.
Kostya also informed me that he is moving to Moscow permanently, his family to follow in a couple of months. I hugged him, and then he said that he wants to open up a kosher restaurant there. He asked me to help hook him up with a Rabbi. After explaining the harsh reality of opening a kosher restaurant and seeing he still was interested, I called Rabbi Kahn of the Vaad HaKashrus in Moscow, who invited him for a Shabbos meal (Kostya will be in Moscow for Shabbos), after which they would discuss opening a restaurant in Moscow.
I finished by telling them the story of Chanukah, a little Dvar Torah, and reminding them to light 5 candles, after which I left and went cross-city to the office of Yosef Zizov, a small, energetic mountain Jew who runs a business selling pharmaceuticals to hospitals together with his cousin, Shimon Batiashvili. They are Georgian Jews, and Yosef has been bugging me for a month already to come visit him. A couple of days ago, I acquiested, and planned a Chanukah party at his house for Thursday night.
However, Chayale was not up for going to a party, and it's mainly my fault since I forgot to tell her. Besides, she pointed out to me, The Zizovs had already experienced Chanukah by being at the Chanukah on ice, and getting the visit from myself. Rather, she suggested we make Chanukah with the Berkuns, who want us to put a Mezuza up in their house.
So I called the Berkuns, and found out that everyone there is sick, so we decided to make a party for them Sunday night. Then I spoke to Chayale, who again confirmed that she wasn't up for going out to the Zizovs. As we drove up to his business, I prepared to tell Yosef about the cancellation.
Yosef Zizov works in a smallish place filled with people who are running around constantly. Drivers keep popping in, and calls keep coming in. People sit waiting for meetings outside his office, which instead of having his name etched into the door, has "сами главни" or in English "most important person".
As the Rabbi of the city, to him I have mportant status, so when I opened the door of his office to notify him that I was here, he shooed out the 6 businessmen sitting there, telling them to wait until he is done with the Rabbi, and ushered me in.
His office is also impressive. He has contacts all over the city and country, and pictures with many famous people including Putin, etc. Also he has notes wishing him personally a good year from the new governor, and stuff like that.
I sat down to speak, and told him that we would have to cancel. Immediately he gave me a guilt trip, explaining how he was one of the ten men for the Minyan, and in order to come he had cancelled a meeting with 20 people. He also told me his aging mother, who is bedridden, would be there, and had already arrived at his house, excitedly preparing for us. Furthermore, knowing we only eat 'Super-kosher', he had bought brand new dishes, pots and pans for our visit, and ordered 5 kilos of 'kosher' meat from Pyatigorsk.
The meat from Pyatigorsk is always a problem. The Rabbi there, Shertil Shalumov, is a mountain Jew. I met him and he is a good man, and a great Rabbi for his community, but from what I've heard, not everything he does is so 'kosher'. According to one source, he is even married to a non-Jew! Truth is I'd have to find out for myself, but for now I don't eat any of his 'Shechted' meat (I was told that he just blesses the cow and has a non_jew slaughter it). This is aside from the fact that it definiely isn't Lubavitch Shechitah. So people always ask me if I can eat his Shechita. I tell them that I am Ashkenazi and he is Sefardi, and we have different rituals to cutting our meat, and therefore I can't eat his meat.
Anyway, he almost pleaded with me to come to his house, so I called Chayale, and finally she agreed. After I told him the news, he explained me why it was so important for him to show us his house.
Basically, as a boy growing up in Kutaisi, his father was a devout communist (I know, that's an oxymoron). This meant that his father was embarrassed that he was born a Jew, and it also meant that they had no belongings, everything belonged to the state. He would make Yosef lie down straight on his bed without ruffling a drop of it or making a bit of a mess, since "it doesn't belong to us."
When Yosef grew up, he decided that not only was he going to be a proud Jew, but he was also going to have a big house, and everything will be HIS belongings. Now he is so proud of what he has, and wants to show it to me.
Then we chatted a bit more, and finally he put on Tefillin. As he read the Shema, his cellphone and business phone were ringing non-stop, and a few people kept poking their heads into the office, but he was focused on his prayers, and didn't hear a thing. When he was done, I told him how impressed I was, and finished with a little Dvar Torah.
I returned home, after unsuccessfully trying to meet several more Jews at work. There I helped Chayale make donuts, after which we got ready to leave for the Zizov's house.
Yosef and Ira, and their children 14-year-old Tamara and 12-year-old Gavriel (who confessed that he wants to be a Rabbi) live in a mansion somewhere in the North of the city. Surrounded by a high fence and guarded by cameras and a vicious-sounding dog (we didn't see him, but definitely heard him), their 4-storey house is a palace, and he proudly showed us around it, bragging as we went room by room. He has a big garden in the back of the house, and his own very large sauna, pool and gym. Everything in his house costed minimum 5000 dollars, and many items were specially imported from different areas of the world. His doors, for example, are solid red oak with stained (transparent and thick) glass. Each wheighed lots of pounds and were tough to open, and he said that every single door costed 7000 Euros (around 10,000 dollars).
I won't describe his entire house, but some thngs were nice to see. In every bedroom there is a Bircas Habayis, and in his bedroom the ceiling above the bed which holds the light fixtures is made in a delicate Magen David, which was custom-made and must have costed at least a year's worth of rent for our current apartment. His bedroom was actually full of Jewish items, such as an 'Abba' and 'Ima' drawing, and a painting of a Gemara next to a Shofar, and oddly there was a portrait of a naked woman also among the drawings.
Almost all the floors in his house are heated, which means that we didn't really need to put on slippers, which is a Russian tradition.
His wife and kids are the sweetest people you can imagine. It doesn't look like they care much about the 'stuff'.
Almost forgot, in the main hall they had set up 3 silver Menorahs (large ones, like the type Rabbi ShemTov probably lights in Shul). But apparently they had already lit, so we skipped that part and sat down to eat.
Food had been a problem, as I told him on Mivtzoim. In order to be kosher enough for us, I said, he's have to buy a new oven. Finally he understood that all he can serve us is fruits, so on the table was a MASSIVE assortment of all kinds of fruits including fresh apricots cherries, which you cannot find here except sometimes in Metro. He explained that they were from his garden.
He also served water, juice, and naturally.... you guessed it. Vodka! (I found one we recognized as Kosher).
While his mother was nowhere to be seen, his father-in-law was there, as well as two family friends. We spoke for awhile and ate many of Chayale's donuts (that she had brought), until Miriam and Chaim had to sleep, so we came home.
He may be a future major sponsor of ours, but I'm going to have to be careful with him. He is a cute little Mountain Jew, but something tells me you don't want to get on his bad side.
Chayale liked Ira and will probably start inviting her for womens events or something.
The Frum joke of the day is one that I made up (let me know what you think):
Why did the Rasha vetov lo cross the road?
To get to the Sitra Achara.
