Sharansky gives Mizrachi students lesson in heroism
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| Fuchs Mizrachi School greets Israeli Knesset member Natan Sharansky. |
On Nov. 10, you could sense a buzz inside the
walls of the Fuchs Mizrachi School.
We were soon to meet famed Israeli Knesset member and Soviet refusenik Natan
Sharansky, a hero for Jews and freedom-loving people all over the world.
During the weeks leading up to his visit,
our teachers attempted to give us some understanding of Mr. Sharansky’s
significance. His incredible struggle and eventual release from prison took
place in 1986, before any of the students were born. We never had the
opportunity to rally, write letters or work on behalf of his cause.
Our connection with Sharansky was only through stories and books. This was our
chance to learn history from the source.
Standing only 5 feet 2 inches, Sharansky is proof that height and heart often
come in inverse proportion. The man who defied an empire and dented the Iron
Curtain may have stood face to face with the freshmen, but his short stature
belied his towering persona.
Although we had all heard many stories
about Sharansky before, everyone in the auditorium was captivated as he recalled
his path from an uneducated Jew to a bold Zionist, political dissident, and
spirited politician; he was captivating, funny, and poignant.
As a child in the Soviet Union, Sharansky’s Jewish identity was simply a line on
his ID card and the butt of anti-Semitic jokes. A major turning point in his
life was the surprising Israeli victory in the 1967 Six-Day War. This spurred
Sharansky to embrace Judaism and Zionism, and he threw himself head-long into
the cause of helping Soviet Jewry.
Reading contraband copies of Leon Uris’s Exodus and the Bible, he felt free for
the first time in his life. As an ignorant Jew, Sharansky was “absolutely
helpless,” but once he discovered his heritage, he became empowered, he said.
Sharansky became a leading refusenik, organizing protests and rallies, but with
mixed results. A “successful” event might have included seven people
demonstrating for two minutes with the hope of drawing international attention.
This inevitably led to his arrest and conviction on trumped-up charges of
treason.
Given the choice of renouncing Israel or going to prison, Sharansky proudly
chose the latter.
His time in prison is testament to the
strength of the human spirit. An avid chess player, Sharansky kept up the habit
in prison by playing hundreds of games in his head, and he proudly declared that
he “won every game.”
Sharansky portrayed his harrowing prison experience with humor and irony. While
in solitary confinement, a place designed to break prisoners’ morale, he
described driving guards crazy with his singing.
Sharansky also maintained a deep faith in God, the Jewish people and Israel. He
compared the fall of communism and the subsequent emigration of Russian Jews to
the biblical exodus from Egypt.
In response to a student’s question about the role of God in his life, Sharansky
told the story of the psalm book which he kept with him throughout his ordeals.
As he was about to be released, he lay down in the snow and refused to budge
until his psalm book was returned. After telling this story to our group,
Sharansky reached into his pocket and produced the book.
When freshman Boris Tuman got up to ask a
question, he began by telling Sharansky that his family had moved to Cleveland
from Ukraine after the dissolution of the USSR. At that moment, we all
recognized that this former refusenik’s efforts had paid off. Sharansky had
paved the way for people like Boris to come to this country, attend a Jewish
school, and live free lives.
The program ended with the singing of “Hatikvah,” and Sharansky’s presence
brought the meaning of the song to life. As we sang about the “hope to be free
in our land,” you could not help but think of his struggle.
Sharansky signed autographs for students, teachers and parents. Through his
words and actions, Natan Sharansky left an indelible impression on every person
in the room. We now know what it means to be a hero.
Micah Stein is a senior at Fuchs Mizrachi School. He is the son of Paul and
Carol Stein of Beachwood.
