After the fall of the Czar in 1917 and the defeat of the Bolsheviks in 1923, the Communists conquered all opposition and were in full control of what became known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.). While the Communists were opposed to all forms of religion, especially Judaism, they were too preoccupied in the formative years of their regime to make a concerted effort at subverting religious practices.
There was, however, one section of the Communist Party that, from its inception, expended great effort to destroy Jewish religious life. This was the “Yevsektsia,” the notorious “Jewish Section.” The Yevsektsia advocated the death of the Jewish religion. They opened a network of kindergartens, schools, and youth clubs where there was no mention of Jewish history or faith and where “G-d” was treated as a superstition of backward people. Instead, Communist ideology and culture were taught with enthusiasm and fervor. As time went on, yeshivos, chadarim, and mikvaos in Russia were forced to close, and teaching Torah to the young became a crime against the State.
The Rav of Luban, R’ Moshe Feinstein zt”l, with his quiet, respectful manner and his avoidance of public encounters with the Communists, remained in relatively good standing with the regime and its supporters. Though there was no doubt where the Rav stood on religious issues, the government could tolerate a man who did not, at least publicly, attempt to show the fallacy of their brutal policies. In private, though, R’ Moshe continued to study Gemara with the men of the town while inspiring and encouraging his people to remain strong in their faith and observance of every mitzvah, despite the persecutions.
One particular incident illustrates both R’ Moshe’s courage and effectiveness during those years. With a combination of ingenuity, personality, daring, and, most importantly, emunah, he succeeded in having a mikvah built with the aid of the Communists themselves. In the city of Luban, officials decided to demolish the old mikvah building on the pretext that it was unhygienic. In its place, they planned to build a modern bathhouse designated for mixed swimming. R’ Moshe prevailed upon the non-Jewish contractor to build the pool in such a way that it would be a kosher mikvah. He bribed the man to arrange to have ice or snow placed in the empty bath. The pool was initiated with forty se’ah of kosher water, since, when there’s no choice, one may even place snow in the empty mikvah via vessels. With the construction taken care of, a problem of a different sort had to be solved. Men and women were expected to use the pool at the same time, something no religious Jew in Luban would ever dream of doing. Unless this situation could be changed, the pool would be useless as a mikvah.
R’ Moshe approached a high-ranking official, whose respect he had earned, and put the dilemma to him this way: The Jewish community wanted very much to enjoy the new sanitary facilities generously provided by the government but would not bathe in mixed company. The gadol put forth a convincing argument: “These new ways may be good for some, but us Jews have always lived with a deeply ingrained sense of modesty, and we won’t bathe in a mixed bathhouse. This stands to endanger everyone since not bathing is unhygienic and tends to breed all sorts of disease. The best solution is to allow separate bathing at least once a week.” The official agreed, and the Jews had themselves a mikvah, the only one for miles around.
In the entire region surrounding Minsk, a radius of hundreds of kilometers, Luban possessed the only real mikvah. Since most people didn’t have access to transportation in those days, there were people, men and women, who walked all the way to Luban, in some cases a journey of three days, to use the precious mikvah. Although a number of leniencies had to be relied upon to validate the new mikvah, R’ Moshe allowed his Rebbetzin to make use of it, since it was vital for the Jews of Luban and the surrounding areas to see that their esteemed rabbi held from it in order for them to have confidence in the kashrus of the mikvah.
Many years later, R’ Moshe wrote a responsum in Igros Moshe (Orach Chaim I §126) that began with, “In our city Luban, it became possible, through Hashem’s kindness, to construct a mikvah (during the years of evil decrees) in a public bathhouse run by the government, which was unaware that it was, in fact, a kosher mikvah ...”
Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppublications.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
