The Jewish Underground of Samarkand: How Faith Defied Soviet Rule

The Jewish Underground of Samarkand: How Faith Defied Soviet Rule (October 31, 2023; Mandel Vilar Press) by Rabbi Hillel Zaltzman relates the largely unknown story of the Chassidic Jewish underground that operated in Samarkand under the watchful eyes of the KGB—a story of faith, courage, and resilience. When the Nazis invaded Ukraine, throngs of Jews fled eastward to the Soviet provinces of Central Asia. Members of the Chabad stream of Chassidism settled in the cities of Samarkand and Tashkent in Uzbekistan. Hillel Zaltzman’s family was among these refugees.

After the war, Jewish communities across the Soviet Union faced renewed efforts by Stalin and the Soviet regime to shut down their religious institutions and eliminate Jewish religious identity. As a child, Hillel studied in secret with Chassidic teachers who could have been sent to Siberia if discovered.

At sixteen, Hillel was recruited to join Chamah, an underground organization founded by a small group of young men to promote Jewish life through education. This clandestine group succeeded in establishing a network of underground Jewish schools for more than 1,500 children, as well as a secret yeshiva in Samarkand for older students. Zaltzman describes the memorable people he worked with and the sacrifices they made to share their love of Torah and Jewish learning. He also recalls some of their more colorful adventures—their attempts to celebrate Jewish holidays in secret, hold prayer services, make their own Passover matzah, and obtain religious texts when it was illegal to do so. In 1971, after fifteen years of waiting, Zaltzman finally received his exit visa and emigrated to Israel with his family. There he helped reestablish Chamah—this time to help new immigrants from the Soviet Union settle in their new homes and reclaim their Jewish identity.