ABSTRACT
The case study of Jewish religious life in Rybnitsa in the Moldavian Soviet Republic aims to help us understand the phenomenon of Judaism as a lived religion in the domestic sphere on the periphery in the late Soviet era. A Hasidic tsaddik, Rybnitser Rebbe (Khaim-Zanlvl Abramovich, 1896–1995), who later became a very famous Rebbe in Israel and in the USA, lived from 1941 to 1972 in Rybnitsa. This chapter is based on oral history interviews conducted with Jews from Rybnitsa and on hagiographic memoirs written by American Jews about the Rebbe. The presence of the Rybnitser Rebbe over the course of several years in a provincial Soviet city significantly changed the picture of Jewish religious life for its residents and helped those who were interested in Judaism return to a stricter observance of traditions. However, he could not completely return the Soviet Jewry of Rybnitsa from the Soviet ideology and practices in which they lived. Their reflections, reactions, and misunderstanding of Hasidic customs will be analyzed in the chapter.
