Over the last two years, the members of B'nai Torah, under the direction of Yad L'Yad coordinator Myra Gary, have enabled needy Jews in Tula - a middle-sized Russian city approximately 100 miles south of Moscow - to live more comfortably through their various sustenance programs with their twinned community. And the residents of Tula have expressed their gratitude to their American friends through their correspondence.

In 1996, B'nai Torah delivered, with the help of the International Physicians Commission, dozens of hearing aids to elderly and hearing-impaired Jews,making a world of difference in the quality of these people's lives. Serghey Banov, a young Tula Jew, wrote the congregation to thank them for their "priceless gift." "I can't believe this has happened to me," Serghey continued. "Now I can continue my studies at college. I can communicate with people, listen to my favorite music, and live. Please accept my sincere and cordial gratitude." Serghey's mother added that the family could not afford to buy a hearing aid themselves, and she accepted the gift "with tears of joy." Several members of the community who have received hearing aids are now working as volunteers to show their appreciation.

A doctor places a hearing aid in the ear of a member of the Tula Jewish community, donated by their Yad L'Yad partner, Congregation B'nai Torah, Highland Park, IL, and aided by the International Physicians Commission. (Photo courtesy of CASJ )

Semyon Kazz, a World War II veteran, was also a recipient of a hearing aid. Semyon remarked that in post-Soviet Russia, the government "talks about attention to veterans, but they do nothing … I was promised in the hospital that I would be given [a hearing aid], but I had no hope I would receive it. This gift I see as a token of your attention and caring for your fellow Jews, your brothers who live far away." And Roza Lubavina, who lost her hearing after years of exposure to industrial noise, said her hearing aid helps her "immensely" and that she can now hear conversations.

In addition to the hearing aids, B'nai Torah sent $700, as well as another $200 in July for aid to the poor and elderly.

The Jews of Tula credit their Yad L'Yad partnership for helping in the general renewal of their community after decades of inactivity under the Soviets. Community leader Faina Sanevich wrote B'nai Torah's Rabbi Magidovich to express her thanks "for the constant help, both moral and material, which you give us…Thank you so very much for everything you do."

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