Economic and social opportunities set the stage for a flourishing Jewish community in Moldova and Transnistria once more.
Written by Rabbi Dina Brawer, Executive Director of World Jewish Relief USA
Earlier this year, I was fortunate to be able to visit Moldova and Transnistria, where I got to see first-hand some of the incredible work being done by World Jewish Relief and its partners. Walking through the streets of Moldova’s capital, Chișinău, I learned it had once been a vibrant hub of Jewish culture, intellect and business. Jewish presence in the city dates back to the early 18th century. In the early 19th century, the region was annexed by the Russian Empire and became known as Bessarabia, home to a Jewish population of 50,000. Jewish life flourished, with 16 Jewish schools educating over 2,000 children and a Chasidic yeshiva that occupied a building with a 50-meter-long facade. With as many as 77 synagogues, including the great Choral synagogue, a renowned training school for cantors, its streets echoed with the sound of prayer and Torah study. Indeed, inscriptions in Yiddish, Romanian, and Russian in the sprawling Jewish cemetery still bear witness to the city’s diverse heritage.
Today’s Moldovan Jewish community is 15,000 strong, with the majority based in Chișinău. While economic opportunities were a key factor in the flourishing of the local Jewish community in previous centuries, today Moldova is the poorest country in Europe according to the World Bank. During my visit, I witnessed the transformative impact that World Jewish Relief’s Employment and Livelihoods programs have on individuals and on the Jewish community at large. While providing job-specific skills training and mentorship so that individuals are empowered to grow their economic opportunities, the program not only fosters a sense of Jewish community for isolated individuals, but also facilitates the development of infrastructure which is key to Jewish education, socializing and bonding.
My trip was filled with inspiring encounters with graduates of World Jewish Relief’s self-employment and small business support program, in partnership with ICTPD (International centre of Training and Professional Development). At the Glassblowers Guild Synagogue, now a haven for a vibrant Chabad congregation, I met Chayale Zalmanev, founder of Chișinău’s Chabad kindergarten, which is a unique provision for Jewish education. Here we heard an adorable group of toddlers sing their Hebrew Purim songs. Later in the day we heard from Yochevet who, through World Jewish Relief’s support, established a thriving Jewish and Hebrew Sunday school in her community.
Sharing lunch with Rabbi Rahamim at Beit Yosef Synagogue’s café, we heard how, as a graduate of our program, he was able to create a cafeteria as a community hub for the growing number of Israeli students attending medical school locally. We tasted Moldovan Kosher wine made under Rabbi Rahamim’s supervision, while engaging in heartfelt discussions about community empowerment.
Journeying to Transnistria, we met a good number of Dubăsari’s 76 Jewish members who participated through a number of World Jewish Relief funded programs. Listening to a group of young women speak about the sewing workshop they took part in, I understood that it delivered much more than practical skills for economic independence. It ignited the sparks of newfound confidence as they learned to deliver complex instructions and critical feedback, fostering deep and supportive friendships that are at the core of Jewish community. One woman explained that she has now found full-time employment, yet returns to join the group weekly during her lunch-hour because it has become her community.
I left Moldova with a tangible sense of hope from conversations with our program partners and participants, and deep gratitude for the impact of World Jewish Relief’s Employment and Livelihood programs in restoring dignity, fostering resilience, and reigniting the flame of Jewish life in Moldova and Transnistria. Economic opportunities are again setting the stage for a flourishing Jewish community, lighting the way toward a brighter tomorrow.
