About us
Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org) reaches out and assists "lost Jews"
seeking to return to the Jewish people. These include the Bnei Menashe
of India, the Bnei Anousim of Spain, Portugal & South America, the
"Hidden Jews" of Poland and others. Please click here to support us.
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Please support Shavei Israel
We need your help to continue with our mission. You can volunteer or make a donation by following this link. We are an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
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| | New emissary Rabbi Shlomo Zelig Avrasin |
Subbotnik Jews get new Shavei Israel emissary
Shavei Israel has appointed Rabbi Shlomo Zelig Avrasin to be our new emissary to the Subbotnik Jews of Russia. The Subbotnik Jews are descendants of peasants in southern Russia who converted to Judaism more than 200 years ago. The name comes from the Russian term for Sabbath - "Subbot."
The Subbotnik Jews paid a heavy price for their choice - Czar Alexander I expelled them to the far reaches of the empire in the early 19th century. Subsequently they were subjected to harassment and repression under the Communist regime, and an unknown number were later murdered by the Nazis.
Many immigrated to Israel during the First Aliyah more than a century ago; another wave came in the last decade, after the fall of the Iron Curtain. However, an estimated 15,000 Subbotnik Jews still live in the former Soviet Union, and many wish to return to the traditions of their ancestors and ultimately join their brethren in Israel.
Rabbi Avrasin, who took up his post during the recent Hanukkah festival, will teach Hebrew and Judaism, organize prayer services, and lead educational activities for Subbotnik Jewish youth. He was born in Lugansk (formerly Voroshilovgrad) in southeastern Ukraine but now resides in Efrat, Israel, where he is married with five children. Rabbi Avrasin is also a Lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces, and a certified shochet - a Jewish ritual slaughterer.
For two centuries, the Subbotniks Jews have clung to their Jewishness despite Czarist oppression and Communist persecution. We cannot and must not turn our backs on the remnants of this community after all that they have endured.
If you would like to help support Shavei Israel's outreach work to Russia's Subbotnik Jews, please click here.
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Chanukah in southern Russia
Chanukah was particularly joyous this year for Subbotnik Jewish youth in the Russian town of Vysoky. Here's a photo from their celebration:
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 | | Miriam Sangiorgio |
Shavei Profile: Pianist Miriam Sangiorgio plays her way back to Judaism
"I could have said I'm a Christian," says Miriam Sangiorgio of Catania , Italy. "I could have had a very easy life."
Instead, the 42-year-old vivacious Italian chose to explore a tenuous Jewish connection that her father only revealed to her in his dying days. Today, Miriam is in Jerusalem studying at Shavei Israel's Machon Miriam Spanish and Portuguese language Conversion and Return Institute.
Even before her father's dramatic announcement, Miriam suspected that he was different from the other Italians they grew up with. "He taught us to thank G-d on a daily basis and to pray for every single action," she says. "He never ate pork, though he was not raised as a Jew."
His life hiding his heritage as a Bnei Anousim - a Jew whose ancestors were compelled to convert to Catholicism more than five centuries ago - is not surprising, Miriam explains. "He grew up under Mussolini. He didn't have a choice. Otherwise he would have been killed."
To read more of Miriam's story, please continue to our website.
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 | | Students from a previous Polish seminar |
Sponsor a Polish "Hidden Jew" for Shavei Israel's December seminar in Poland
In less than 10 days, the Shavei Israel-sponsored seminar for the "Hidden Jews" of Poland will take place in the city of Dinov, two hours from Krakow.
The seminar, which will be held at the Polish Center for Jewish Heritage, will include 30 Polish Jews, their families and children, all of whom will be brought by Shavei Israel, along with Rabbi Yitzchak Rappoport, Shavei's emissary in Wroclaw. and special teachers who will be flying in from Israel.
Perhaps most exciting, the seminar will kick off with the chupah (marriage ceremony) of two young Polish Jews, Dawida Zwi and Johany, on Friday afternoon. That will be followed by a full Shabbat service and meal and a festive "Oneg Shabbat." Shabbat day will include classes on a variety of topics,, and on Saturday night, a documentary film (in Polish) on the Baal Shem Tov (the founder of the Hasidic movement) will be screened. Participants will stay on through mid-week studying Hasidic thought and visiting local towns with a rich Jewish history.
It's not too late to help sponsor a Polish "Hidden Jew" to attend this seminar. We've set up a special Facebook Cause which makes it quick and easy to make a donation. We thank you in advance for your support of this exciting and important event in Poland.
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This month in social media
Here's some of what we posted to the Shavei Israel Facebook page this month:- There was good coverage of Shavei's new emissary to the Subbotnik Jews on Ynet and on newswe.com (in Russian).
- Lots of Chanukah content too: pictures from Vysoky, Russia; Bnei Menashe celebrations in India; and an editorial by Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund on the timelessness of Chanukah rituals.
- Channel News Asia wrote about Shavei's work with the Kaifeng Jews, including an insightful video on the 7 young men Shavei has helped make aliyah to Israel. Haaretz also had a good article.
- We linked to an article written by Michael about the Bnei Anousim which was published in the Kulanu newsletter.
- And here's one last Chanukah story: where's the world's largest menorah? In Indonesia, the country with the world's largest Muslim population!
If you're not following us on Facebook yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to get started.
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