Five Couples Wed at Chabad of Russia’s Brazil Retreat

Bogdan Nizovtzev was born in Yevpatoria, a city on the Crimean Peninsula. The city of 100,000 has a Jewish population of several hundred, with precious few opportunities for Jewish connection. After he moved to Simferopol, a larger city with some 13,000 Jews, Bogdan was connected to Yahad, Chabad of Russia’s Jewish student and young adult movement directed by Rabbi Mendy Wilansky.

Each year, thousands of young Russian Jews join Torah classes and communal events hosted by Yahad branches across the country’s sphere of influence, from Tbilisi to Birobidzan. Like Bogdan, many of the participants hail from cities and towns largely bereft of Jewish infrastructure. For many of them, Yahad’s events are their first opportunity to spend quality time with fellow Jews. 

Annually, Yahad sponsors an educational journey — each year to a different destination. During the 2022 Yahad trip to Morocco, Bogdan — who now uses his Jewish name, Netanel — met Michal. Like him, she’d grown up on the Crimean Peninsula and had little in the way of Jewish opportunity before finding Yahad. 

“We became friends at first, and then we fell in love,” Michal described. “We also went on the Yahad Turkey trip together, and then to Moscow for the Yahad Shabbaton.” At the Shabbaton, after a long conversation with philanthropist Vadim Aminov, the two decided to build a Jewish family together.

During Yahad’s 2026 trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil, Netanel and Michal began a new chapter. They were one of five Jewish couples — each of whom had met each other at Yahad — who tied the knot in an exquisite wedding celebration on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. 

Evgeniy Krasnov, from Moscow, was one of the five grooms. “Lena and I met on a Yachad trip, during a cruise in Turkey, and decided it would be very romantic to have a chuppah on a Yahad trip,” he said.

The ceremony was attended by their fellow Yahad members, their rabbis and rebbetzins from back home, as well as local leaders, philanthropists, and members of Brazil’s Jewish community. 

Asher Kusher and his new wife Malka both grew up in Saratov, a city on the banks of the Volga River. “Although my wife and I are from the same city, we truly got to know each other during a Yahad trip — in an atmosphere where people are open to communication and new connections,” Kusher said. “When Yahad offered us the opportunity to do a Chuppa during the trip, we immediately agreed. Since our story began there, it felt especially meaningful and right to celebrate our chuppah in that same atmosphere.”

For many Yahad attendees hailing from the former Soviet Union, they are the first in their families for generations to have the opportunity to connect with Judaism. Polina Gluzman, from St. Petersburg, was one of the five brides. She says that Yahad has resonated with her entire family. “Yahad forms my Jewish identity with all these trips, seminars, celebrating holidays and Shabbats,” she said. “I passed it to my parents and now they also participate in the Jewish community in St. Petersburg.”

But perhaps above all else, Yahad’s attendees — especially those from far-off cities and towns — treasure the opportunity to connect with fellow Jews.

“For us, Yahad is not just a Jewish organization, but a true community of like-minded people. It brings young people together not only within one city, but also gives people from different cities the chance to meet, connect, and continue their relationships even after the trips,” Kusher said.

“I feel very fortunate to have met my soulmate there, but I also know many couples who met through Yahad and went on to build strong Jewish families.”