Siberia is a giant region of Russia that extends from the Ural Mountains in the West to the Pacific Ocean in the East. Usually, it is only assosiated with frost, snow, prisons and woods. The first Jews in Siberia were those exiled from Moscow as early as the 17th century. Next to arrive were Jewish soldiers who were sent to serve in Siberia by the Russian Tsar Nicolas I. Some Jews even came to Siberia by their own choice trying to escape pogroms and poverty of the Pale of Settlement. To avoid the official prohibition some obtained fake documents to state themselves as criminals sentenced to Siberian exile. In this session with Evgenia we will visit the private homes and synagogues of Siberian Jews to discuss explore Jewish life in Siberia. We will pay respect to the Jews exiled to Siberia from Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania by the Soviet government in 1939 – 1940 (like Arie’s great grand-parents, Pesach and Penina Ruch) and those Polish Jews who ran to the East, crossing the border with USSR, to escape from the Shoah.

Evgenia Kempinski is a Russian Jew born and raised in St. Petersburg. Her family was originally from the Pale of Settlement – Poland, Ukraine and Belorussia – and endured the suppression of Judaism in the Soviet Union then the rebirth of Jewish culture and religious life in today’s St. Petersburg. She has been an official St. Petersburg tour guide for over 15 years and is the founder and owner of St.Petersburg Jewish Tours – a company offering Jewish travelers a unique experience of showcasing the best of Russia from a Jewish point of view. She currently lives in Haifa, Israel, still keeping close connections with St. Petersburg and its Jewish community.

CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Brotherhood Synagogue (Gramercy Park, NYC), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B’nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, CA, Shomrei Torah Synagogue (San Fernando Valley, CA), Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Temple Emanuel (Newton, MA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY), University Synagogue (Irvine, CA), Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA) & Walnut Street Synagogue (Chelsea, MA)