CENTER SEFER
Fifth Annual Conference of "Sefer", Moscow, February 3-5, 1998
By: Jonathan Porath
March, 1998
Contents
An Overview: The Spirit of Sefer
Only in context can one begin to fathom this quite unique and extraordinary phenomenon of the Academic Judaica community in the Former Soviet Union, known as Sefer. The numbers speak for themselves. From the first academic conference, held in February, 1994, the yearly attendance has grown from 100 to 150, 250, 300 to this year's over 400 participants. The number of academic presentations on topics ranging from Bible and Semitic languages, to Midrash and Kabbalah, world and Russian Jewish history, Zionism and post Soviet Jewish identity, Jewish literature and culture, has expanded to over 140, nearly all from local scholars. Five years ago, the number of student participants was zero. This year dozens participated, including two who presented at major conference sessions. In terms of content, this conference far exceeded its predecessors. More presenters gave better papers than ever before. The full day and a half dedicated to the workshops did not suffice. People kept clamoring for more.
Administratively and in terms of local empowerment, this conference was without precedent. Based on previous experience, and especially with the absence of some key JDC staff who were on other assignment in Israel and throughout the FSU, the local Sefer office in Moscow took upon the community: academics and students to be sure, but also local amateur scholars, faculty at Jewish schools, Jewish educators, and local leaders. The response was quite overwhelming. Of special note was the participation of other Jewish members of the Academy not engaged in Jewish studies. Hearing about the conference, they asked to take part as well.
For three days, the hallowed halls of Moscow's academia were filled with words of the Jewish past, present and future, all of which made this conference quite astounding.
Student Participation
The presence of students of Judaica was especially felt. Just prior to the official opening of the conference, we convened a dozen or so advanced students studying at the Jewish University of Moscow, Moscow State University (Institute of Asian and African Studies), Maimonides Academy and Project Judaica at the Russian State University of the Humanities, who laid out before us an impressive range of scholarly interests: the Soviet Jewish underground, Hebrew and Arabic linguistics, the history of the Karaites, Medieval Jewish history, archeology, Russian and Hebrew literary influences, anti-Semitism. Many had attended the Eshnav academic summer program we had run in Jerusalem in July, 1997, and were busily following their scholarly pursuits.
When asked how the international academic community could be of help, they listed a series of needs: visiting professors to fill in the gaps in their training (note the almost complete absence of scholarship in classical Jewish texts, such as Bible, Talmud, Midrash and Jewish philosophy), outside supervisors and tutors for their doctoral and post-doctoral work, in depth and contemporary research materials, access and direction to finding Jewish topics on the Internet, travel to Israel for scholarship. Yomtov Asis spoke for all assembled when he saw a great future for Jewish studies in the FSU.
The following evening, a larger group of students gathered to celebrate a great simcha, the publication of the proceedings of the Second Annual Student Conference on Judaica, held in Moscow in early July, 1997. They had called the booklet "Tirosh", echoing the fact that they were "young grapes" of their field. There was a deep resonance when Jonathan Porath told the students "we believe in you", words which were echoed by their professors and other guests.
The expanding student role is part of the Sefer story. At the initial conferences, no students took part. In 1996, a group of younger attendees organized their own "student section" and held the initial student academic conference. In 1997, they lobbied the foreign guests (primarily the Joint Authority and the JDC) and organized the Eshnav summer program in Jerusalem. Now they had arrived as full fledged members of the program. At the opening evening plenary, students reported on their activities, their independent relation with various bodies, including Sefer, JAFI and the JDC, and invited all to their third academic conference, to be held July 2-3, 1998 in Moscow.
The following morning, Anna Simonova-Malchikov, a graduate of Project Judaica in Moscow, electrified the conference by screening her film "Hidden Archives", which she had researched and produced for Russian TV. It documents the story of the Jewish communal archives captured by the Red Army from the Nazis at the end of WWII. Pre-modern and modern Jewry came alive through her wonderful choice of records, artifacts and ritual items of the Jewish people. Strikingly, Anna comes from a Russian family with deep connections to the former state security apparatus, who is making an indelible contribution to the Russian Jewish present and future.
At the 1998 Sefer Conference, the students certainly arrived.
Re-presenting the Bible
One of the high points of the conference was the presentation of the Biblical Reader. (The original had been presented on Mt. Sinai some 3,200 years ago!) Produced in response to a need articulated at an earlier Sefer gathering, for an anthology of secondary sources and articles on the Bible, which would redeem the Tanach as primarily a Jewish and not Christian document, a committee in Jerusalem and Moscow had labored for over two years to produce the book. Selected by Dr. Baruch Schwartz of Hebrew University, supervised by Leonid Mazikh, and funded by the JDC, the 670 page, hard backed volume represented the first ever publication of its kind.
At the session, Jewish and non-Jewish scholars spoke about the place of the Bible in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The book was hailed as a "scientific and academic work about the Bible, without apologetics". Another said, "only with the help of Jewish thought can we unite all Christian theologians. Mankind wants tolerance. We must be united". Haim Avni encouraged groups to produce a study guide, to bring this product of research into the classroom. "Your challenge is to deal with the multi-cultural realities of the university public you are serving. This book is a wonderful step in that direction." Jonathan commented that the real story was not only in the publication of such a volume; rather that after 70 years of totalitarian rule there existed a group of people in the Former Soviet Union who cared about such a book on the Bible - that was indeed a great event, and certainly worthy of celebration.
The session itself was a wonderful social and communal event, replete with laughter and true joy. It was chaired in his own inimitable style by Leonid Mazikh whose intellect, humor, warmth and basic truth make him the academic Rebbe of so many in the FSU.
The evening was punctuated by a dramatic interlude. Ralph Goldman, recently returned from a meeting at the Israeli embassy, brought with him press clippings from that day's Israeli news broadcast. The 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. radio shows had reported on the Sefer conference and continued, "One of the high points was the presentation of a new Biblical Anthology in Russian." As the report was translated and shared with the Moscow Sefer audience, there was a real sense that we were making Jewish history!
Since then Sefer has received a number of requests for copies of the Biblical Reader, including from Russian Orthodox Theological seminaries, and is preparing a program of "presentations" to distribute the book.
Program Highlights
The high point of the first day at the conference was the festive opening session. The more than 200 participants who filled the ornate Blue Room of the Russian Academy of Sciences were greeted by scholars and rabbis from near and far. Vica Motchalova, the executive director of Sefer, quoted the opening of the Torah, saying that God had given us the opportunity to create "something out of nothing". Professor Victor Khori, director of the Institute for Slavic and Balkan studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, praised the gathering and noted the series of joint conferences Sefer had conducted with the Institute, including "Genesis and Creation of the World" (1995) and "From Genesis to Exodus" (1997). Moscow Chief Rabbi, Pinchas Goldschmidt, noted the Jubilee dimension to the fifth conference and called upon the academics to teach the younger generation. Professor Yomtov Asis announced the Hebrew University's intention to set up a new institute in Russia, and of their desire to cooperate with local FSU bodies. Rabbi Maurice Corson, President of the Wexner Foundation said that the was attending as a "talent scout" to see how the Wexner Foundation could help in the work. He echoed the blessing of the Psalms, that the mutual efforts for the Jewish future be reaped with joy. Boris Usharenko, from the Russian Jewish Congress, promised to do what they can to help Sefer continue its fine work.
The greetings were followed by a series of presentations in honor of the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel, including one by Ralph Goldman, entitled "A Tribute to David Ben Gurion". We were all struck by the moment of Ralph's recollection. Imagine, telling about B. G. at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow! The combined Goldman-Ben Gurion message came through loud and clear. "He (B. G.) did not permit realism to cripple his moral vision". Ralph inspired us to view this enterprise of the renewal of post-Soviet Jewry on the broadest possible canvas. Gene Weiner reflected on the redemptive and shaping role the emerging Russian Jewish community could have on contemporary world Jewry, particularly based on his personal experience with young people and students from academia and Hillel. More than 50 JDC missions had visited Moscow in 1997, and were all touched and inspired by what they had seen. Professor Mikhail Chlenov spoke on Israel in the consciousness of Soviet Jewry.
The next morning's plenaries featured presentations from around the Jewish world, on "Jewish Life in the Diaspora" and "Jewish Thought at the End of the Twentieth Century". Yomtov Asis revealed to many the fabled story of the Ibn Tibon family, whose members altered the course of world civilization by transmitting, via translation, the secrets of the ancients to the future. Haim Avni spoke about pluralism and volunteerism in the Diaspora and of the need to preserve the legitimacy of being different. Aharon Weiss, a noted Holocaust scholar in addition to his JDC role as representative in St. Petersburg, spoke about the Judenrat in occupied Europe during the Shoah. Arkadi Kovelman, the former Rector of the Jewish University of Moscow, and now of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, spoke about the application of Midrash to contemporary literary theory.
Workshops: The Joy of Participation
A great favorite at all of these conferences are the academic workshops, where the local academics have the opportunity to present papers to their colleagues, and where international guests can also speak. A dozen sessions were organized covering a whole host of topics, each attended by 10 - 40 participants. They included: Biblical Studies and Semitology, Jewish Thought, Ancient and Medieval Jewish History, East European Jewish History, Towards the 50th Anniversary of the State of Israel, Jewish Demography, Sociology, Ethnology, Jewish Culture, Literature and Languages. International presenters included: Ze'ev Elkin, Yomtov Asis, Avraham Greenbaum, Haim Avni (Jerusalem), Bernard Zelechov, Michael Brown, Alfred Fisher, Arkadi Kovelman (Canada), Janet Hadda (UCLA), John Kleir, Ada Rapoport-Albert (London).
The JDC was represented by two presentations: Charles Hoffman on "Jewish Life in Post-War Shtetl in Ukraine" and Seymour (Epi) Epstein on "Human Sexuality in the Biblical Narrative (Genesis 2:18-24)". Following his fascinating discussion of the methodological issues raised in reconstructing the history of Soviet Jewry, Chuck asked the participants what they recalled from their own experiences. One member recalled the two months he spent with his grandmother in a shtetl 40 years previously, and others came forth as well. Another younger student group was challenged by Epi's close reading of the Book of Genesis, and asked to ponder the place of myth in the Bible, and in Russia today: What do you do if you and your parents were raised on different myths, and what happens if your parents' myth collapses? The budding Academic Judaica students were asked to participate in the story and to make it their own (e.g. not only what does the Biblical story say, but what does it say to me?).
Thumbnail Portraits: Reports from the Field
During the course of the conference, there were various opportunities for representatives of local Academic Judaica programs to share their progress and challenges for the future, through a "round table", smaller group discussions, and private consultations.
Professor Wolfson (Tomsk, Central Siberia), reported by letter that Hebrew language, Jewish history and Israeli studies were being offered. Dr. Julia Muchnik, a graduate of the Sefer Mentoring Program and Melton is currently teaching there. Two graduate students are pursuing degrees. Unfortunately, the university has cut their budget, putting the entire program in danger.
Igor Bobrov (Tumen, Western Siberia), is offering specialized courses in Russian Jewish and Arab-Israeli history. The Tumen Museum mounted an exhibition on the History of Siberian Jewry. They need books of all kinds.
Elizaveta Khakina (State Maimonides Academy, Moscow) gave an urgent plea for the support of Yiddish Studies in the FSU.
Igor Shchupak (Zaporozhye, Ukraine), reported that three students were sent to the previous academic conference, and a student scholarly club meets bi-weekly. They need library books, as well.
Mikhail Girshman (Donetsk, Ukraine), sponsors a minor in Jewish Studies at the Donetsk State University. Nine students have graduated from the program. 150 students have enrolled in the past five years. Yiddish is to be added to next year's curriculum. Current courses include: Hebrew, Torah, Jewish Philosophy, Jewish Literature, Jewish Music, History of Ukrainian and Donbas Jewry, Jewish Culture.
Oleg Budnitzky (Rostov State Pedagogical University, Russia), tells that a unit on Russian Jewry has been added to the general Russian History course. 500 students per year are enrolled in various courses. Jewish Studies is not a part of the officially approved State curriculum. Sefer should seek to influence the Russian Government to include Jewish Studies in the curriculum. He noted the successful example of "twinning" of York University in Toronto with Rostov.
A delegation of six scholars reported from Vilnus and Kaunus Universities in Lithuania. Ludas Truska is teaching Jewish History. Recently the 200th anniversary of the Gaon was marked by regional and international conferences. Arunas Vishnyauskas from Kaunus heads a center for publishing texts in Lithuania.
Valery Gessen (St. Petersburg) reads lectures on Jewish history at state universities. Strong Communist Party influence and political problems prevent the spread of Jewish studies in local general universities. There is a need for texts, especially on regional and Russian Jewish history.
Mikhail Agarunov (Baku) spoke about the triad of Jewish communities in Azerbaijan: Mountain Jews, Georgian Jews and Ashkenazim. Hebrew is taught at the local State University. He would like to establish an archive for Mountain Jews.
Moshe Lemster (Kishinev) notes that 40 students are enrolled at the State University of Moldova Judaic Studies program. They would like to provide them with study opportunities in Israel. Two of the graduates teach at the local yeshiva.
Zelig Pinchasik (Minsk) has 20 faculty members in its Jewish University, and has good connections with the local State University. Previously, Jewish subjects were taboo. The question of recognition of Jewish Studies as a separate discipline has not been resolved. A dozen academics attended the conference with the help of the JDC Minsk office. At a breakfast meeting with the JDC Country Director and local representative they discussed strengthening Academic Judaica in Belarus via an expanded regional structure (perhaps modeled after Sefer) and organizing outreach adult education lectures.
Kiev participants discussed the local academic situation. Solomon University has 80 - 90 Jewish Studies students, out of 1200. Judaica is not a recognized major at the University, there is a severe shortage of faculty, and an overall philosophical conception is wanting. There are additional locations of Judaic Studies, including Mohilev Academy, the State Shevchenko University, the Institute of Foreign Language, and others. Suggestions have been made to reorganize and refocus Academic Judaica in Kiev and environs, subject to necessary funding.
Simcha Fishbain and Shlomo Gendelman from Touro College Moscow emphasized their academic standards and programs, and would be open to joint projects with other universities and institutes. They extend a cordial invitation to the JDC to visit their Moscow campus.
Sefer International Advisory Council (SIAC)
A dozen members of SIAC met to review the conference and to focus on the role of the international community. Dmitry Frolov reported on his December, 1997 visit to the U.S. representing Sefer. He emphasized the need to make Sefer known overseas, he felt reassured that opportunities do exist to find support, and felt that in some levels of research, FSU scholars can compete with the westerners on an equal basis. A strategy of engagement needs to be developed. Members of the Moscow Sefer Academic Board need to experience the U.S. first hand. Publications of Sefer are needed. He would recommend publishing the Proceedings of past Sefer conferences. Michael Brown suggested turning elements of the Sefer conference into a university pedagogy seminar ("How to teach Bible, Jewish History, etc.).
Vica reported that Sefer has received local "in kind" support (for RAS facilities, for example) but has not yet developed financial backing. There is still a fear of locals publicly identifying as Jews, as opposed to the U.S. where Jewish philanthropy is open for all to see.
Haim Avni noted the role of financial contributions to the process; it gives a feeling of belonging and participation in an academic enterprise. With the magnificent success and growth of Sefer there is a need to prioritize the abilities and capacities of the organization, and to define what its limits are. Haim emphasized the teaching contributions of Sefer, through a Teaching Kit via modules, as well as guiding doctoral studies with the help of outside professors.
Jonathan Porath noted a series of new international initiatives (Israeli universities, Government of Israel, etc.) which indicate that Sefer's message is being heard and that Academic Judaica in the FSU is beginning to have an echo and a resonance in the wider community. (Note the March, 1998 article which appeared in the Jerusalem Post).
All gathered expressed their profound thanks to Rashid and Vica for their extraordinary efforts in founding and directing Sefer since its inception in August, 1994, and wished them continued success.
In attendance: Haim Avni, Michael Brown, Dmitry Frolov, Ralph Goldman, Janet Hadda, Rashid Kaplanov, John Kleir, Lena Lunina, Leonid Mazikh, Victoria Motchalova, Herb Neuman, Jonathan Porath.
Conference Evaluation and Future Directions
February 1-3, 1999 has been proposed for the next annual conference, the first day coinciding with Tu Bishvat. There was a clear feeling to cut back on the plenaries and to strengthen the workshops. International guests should be solicited and invited by name, as best fits the program. Too many foreigners places a great burden on the organizing committee and local resources. There were many advantages to conducting the conference at the Russian Academy of Sciences, including the accessibility, prestige, and administrative convenience of having the Sefer offices double as the communications center. Limited size and availability of workshop space, and restricted building access continue to be a problem. The Sefer Academic Board will decide these issues.
The academic level continues to grow and a sense of continuity and ongoing discussions from one conference to the next is starting to develop. Intensive mini-seminars, time permitting, are very valuable. One section (Jewish Philosophy) already knows its topics for next year!
The Jewish historians felt there were too many regional topics, which should be left to regional meetings and conferences. A wider conceptual frame work is needed. Vladimir Sobkin, from Moscow, noted that the conferences have surpassed the stage of jubilation and are now making their own analyses. That should be encouraged. Clearly the entire academic level of discourse is rising and will continue to do so. The conference program must reflect that increased sophistication and depth.
Sefer has to examine its role and prioritize its programs. The demands and pulls are too great to be adequately addressed. Questions such as: "Wherein lies Sefer's unique contribution?" and "What is most needed at the present?" should be discussed.
Working with various bodies, including the Sefer International Advisory Council, the JDC and other, Sefer needs to address its pattern of funding. Locals (Russian Jews as well as expatriates living in Moscow) should be approached, in addition to international donors. Long range financial independence is vital for Sefer's continued vitality and growth.
Sefer should focus its attention on particular educational and community building projects, including: national and regional seminars, mentoring, textbook and syllabus preparation and production, fostering future generations of scholars, and representing the overall needs of the academics and intellectuals.
Sefer should publish an updated 1998 Academic Directory (last edition: 1996), for Academic Judaica in the FSU, including institutions, courses, and Sefer members, indexed by locality and subject matter.
JDC representatives should work with local academics to integrate them into the larger Jewish community, as board members, leaders of organizations or projects, teachers at seminars, archival researchers, contacts with local municipalities and governmental offices, etc. The potential has only begun to be tapped.
A plan to support the growing number of graduate students should be adopted, based on the contributions of Israeli and western universities. The proposed Hebrew University Institute in Moscow should play a central role in the continued development of Academic Judaica in the capitals and, via Sefer, in the periphery.
In Conclusion: Sefer at 3 ½ and the JDC Connection
Since its inception in August, 1994, Sefer has moved farther than anyone could have conceived. In terms of programs, leadership and empowerment, it stands as a model in the post-Soviet reality. The secret of its success lies in its ability to respond to a deeply felt but long inarticulated need: the desire for community. Academic Judaica has shown itself to be a compelling framework around which people of good will are prepared to gather and invest their lives and hearts. Sefer crosses all borders: old and young, student and teacher, Jew and non-Jew, learned and learning, all with a common goal: to delve deeply into one of humankinds great intellectual and faith traditions - Judaism in all its facets. Vica captured it wonderfully at the closing session of the Sefer conference by framing it thusly: Sefer is our "Academic Mishpocha". It has all the elements of a scholarly community plus the deeply felt Jewish dimension, and that is what makes it work.
On a deeper level, we are dealing here with symbols. As Jonathan told a gathering of foreign guests just prior to the conference, "You may think they are reading an academic lecture, but they are really "davening" (praying)... expressing their closeness and ties in their own language and style." One should not confuse the externals with the substance. For many Sefer participants, this is their Jewish expression and Jewish identity. As such, it is powerful expression, indeed.
None of this would have been possible without the JDC, We provided the wherewithal, the organization, the resources and the connections to make it all happen - almost. Without the heartfelt desire, great intuition, and even profound courage of the members of the post-Soviet Academic Judaica community, our initiatives would never have born fruit. This is JDC at its best - forging dynamic partnerships with locals, catylizing leadership groups, exposing the project to the light of day and the broader Jewish world, and "shepping nachas" at the result.
Special thanks to all those who worked so hard for this conference and during the entire year: Rashid and Vica and their colleagues; Luda and her staff from the Sefer office; Lena Lunina and Michael Steiner of the Moscow JDC; and Leonid Mazikh. The mazal tov belongs to them.