Father of the Bride
Today on Tablet
June 23, 2011
Exactly 20 years ago, the Soviet Union still existed and Jewish life in what is now Russia, particularly religious Jewish life, was barely conceivable. Now, 20-year-old Blumi Lazar can get married at a lavish wedding in Moscow with 1500 guests as well as a chuppah, and it is largely thanks to her father, Berel Lazar, chief rabbi of the Russian Federation and the man who, as a Chabad rabbi from Milan in the late ’80s, began the mini-perestroika of Russian Jewry. Julia Ioffe spoke to Berel Lazar on the day of his daughter’s wedding, and today in Tablet Magazine, she tells his—and her—incredible story.
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
