MOSCOW, Russia –"Meeting Place" is one of many projects for Jewish young people in Moscow. Meeting Place gatherings, which are held in the dining hall of the Shaarei Tsedek Center, have become even more popular thanks to the group "Our people. Moscow”, established by Arkady Aronov on the popular Russian-speaking social network ‘Odnoklassniki.ru’. Young singles, many of whom are already familiar with each other through ‘virtual’ acquaintances via the Internet, have the chance to meet each other face to face.
These meetings also give participants a chance to explore such things as their place in life and the proper way to develop themselves and become more moral, ethic people. The latest event was attended by 40 young men and women. The event included a talk by Rabbi Alexander Lakshin and another special guest, Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar. Rabbi Lakshin gave the opening talk, which concerned the Torah and its composition, as well as the basic texts of Jewish law.
Rabbi Lazar then spoke to the group, beginning his talk by stating that the Torah offers the answer to all questions. "Let’s put this to a test,” he offered the participants. “You can ask me questions and I'll show you where the answers can be found in the Torah. And If I do not know the answer, it’s not because there is no answer, but because my knowledge is limited.”
In response to the question of why a 21st century person needs the Torah, he answer, "Trade and the environment – all of this can change. The only reality that exists is inside us, what we call the "soul." The Torah is eternal; it is our manual of how to live in this world.”
The participants enthusiastically asked dozens of questions – Why do we celebrate Simchat Torah? How do you find the answer in the Torah to the actual question? Can one succeed in business and study the Torah at the same time? How do we find justification for the actions we take? To these and many other questions, Rabbi Lazar gave thoughtful and meaningful answers.
The meeting went on until late in the evening, but nobody really wanted to leave as hardly anyone in the room has ever seen such an engaging discussion as occurred on this occasion with Rabbi Lazar.
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