Thanks to the passport: Cremation of an unidentified Jewish body found in Moscow was prevented

March 24, 2022   

About a month ago, the Moscow police located the body of an unknown man in a remote, uninhabited place. According to the tests, the man died due to the intense cold. According to local law, a thorough examination of the unknown man's clothes was conducted before sending the body for cremation, and among the documents found was an Israeli passport. The police contacted the Israeli consul in Russia, Yaffa Ilovitzky, and she quickly transferred the documents to the Shaarei Tzedek Jewish Charity Center in central Moscow. Rabbi Shaia Deitch, a Chabad emissary who also serves as the commander of ZAKA in Russia, presented the documents to the Department of Jewish Inquiry at the Chief Rabbinate of Russia, and after a thorough investigation, it was learned that the deceased was a kosher Jew, born in Georgia, who immigrated to the Land of Israel on his own and returned to Moscow a short time ago - and lived there alone without a redeemer or family. At the same time, an urgent request was sent to receive the body of the deceased for a proper Jewish burial, and the authorities complied and released the body for burial. In cooperation with the Chabad emissary to the Georgian community in Moscow, Chacham Avraham Elashvili, all burial expenses were donated, and a dignified funeral was held at the old Jewish home "Malakhvoka" in the suburbs of Moscow, with the participation of a number of Jews who accompanied the lonely man with the grace of truth to a proper burial. [Gallery]