Chabad to Reach All Jewish Soldiers in Russian Army

In a unique partnership, Simon Zokhorovich, a Jewish colonel in the Russian army and Rabbi Aron Gurevitch, a Lubavitch emissary for the Russian army, have joined forces in bringing Judaism to the armed forces.

"I never had a rabbi, and I hardly knew at that time what a rabbi was, but I decided that I will do anything in my power to bring a rabbi to the army," Zokhorovich relates. The colonel is Gurevitch’s greatest advocate and aids him in his various activities.

Rabbi Gurevitch has traveled to every army base across Russia’s vast territory, bringing kosher food and inspirational literature to the estimated 15,000 Jewish soldiers serving in the Russian army.

A remarkable achievement, but it is still just a beginning, says Gurevitch. "We still have a lot of work ahead of us. We will reach every Jew on every base.