By ALEXANDER DOLITSKY
The freedoms for people clearly outlined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution — speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition — are interconnected and foundational to democratic society, personal dignity, and social progress. They enable individuals to think, express, pray, and live according to their conscience and traditional values without government interference.
In our country, freedom of religion protects individual conscience, which includes both the right to practice a faith and the right to have no faith or protects a person’s innermost beliefs. The First Amendment prevents religious discrimination, protects the right of all people of the U.S. land, regardless of their faith by ensuring that the government cannot establish a religion or force citizens to conform to a particular set of beliefs. It also fosters a diverse society by allowing people to live, speak, and act according to their beliefs peacefully and publicly; religious freedom preserves a diverse and pluralistic society.
During this summer season, I have been signing my books at the Hearthside Books in the Merchant’s Wharf in downtown Juneau — an engaging activity in meeting diverse tourists from all corners of the world. On one occasion, the relatively young orthodox-looking Jewish tourists from New York approached my table, purchased one title of my books, and during our brief communication, recognizing that I am a Russian-born Jew, offered to perform a blessing for me.
Certainly, why to refuse an offer of the sincere blessing. Indeed. Very quickly two young men displayed necessary items for blessing ceremony, secured two leather boxes (tefillins), one on my forehead just above the hairline, and centered between the eyes (tefillah shel rosh), and the other box on the bicep of my non-dominant left arm (tefillah shel yad). The box on my arm was angled toward the heart, and the strap is wrapped nine times down the arm and around the hand. These Jewish prayers are called tefillin. The practice is meant to fulfill the Torah’s commandment to bind the words of God “upon your hand” and “between your eyes.”
Inside each box are scrolls of parchment inscribed by a scribe with four specific passages from the Torah, which express the core tenets of the Jewish faith:
- Exodus 13:1–10: Reminds Jews of the Exodus from Egypt and God’s role in their liberation.
- Exodus 13:11–16: Highlights the duty to teach Jewish values to future generations.
- Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (The Shema): Declares God’s unity and commands the love and fear of Him.
- Deuteronomy 11:13–21: Reiterates the rewards for observing God’s commandments.
The placement of the tefillin on the arm and head symbolizes the devotion of a person’s intellect, emotions, and actions to serving God.
- Head tefillin: Corresponds to the mind, focusing one’s intellect and thoughts toward God.
- Arm tefillin: Placed near the heart, representing the submission of a person’s emotions and actions.
The act of wrapping tefillin binds a person to their core values and traditions, reminding them of the covenant with God established at Mount Sinai. This practice is considered a mitzvah (commandment) for Jewish men starting at their Bar Mitzvah (age 13). A Bar Mitzvah is a Jewish rite of passage for a boy at age 13, marking his transition to religious adulthood, where he is held accountable for observing Jewish laws (mitzvot) and gains new responsibilities within the community. The ceremony, which can include reciting blessings and reading from the Torah during a synagogue service, is followed by a celebration, symbolizing his “son of the commandment” status.
After I was wrapped in tefillin, a young man pulled out from his pocket a small-size Torah, instructed me to repeat after him and recited the prayers from the Torah. Then he loudly blew Shofar that echoed around the Merchants Wharf Mall.
The Jewish horn used during ceremonies is called a Shofar. It is an ancient, sacred instrument, typically made from a ram’s horn. The Shofar’s sounds are considered a spiritual alarm clock, calling people to reflect, repent, and reawaken their connection to God and Jewish tradition. It recalls biblical events such as the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and the binding of Isaac. Throughout history, the Shofar was used to announce significant events, signal the start of a jubilee year, and even as a call to arms in battle.
At the end of the ceremony, the young man asked me if I ever had this experience. I replied that in Juneau I organized a Bat Mitzvah for my daughter in the local synagogue when she was 12 years old, but I never was blessed until now. “Well, this was your Bar Mitzvah,” he acknowledged with a generous smile.
This spontaneous ceremony performed for my benefit by complete strangers from New York in the public place in Juneau brought my thoughts back to Kiev of the former Soviet Union. Being a Jew in the Soviet Union meant navigating systemic discrimination, state-sponsored anti-religious campaigns, and political persecution, particularly under the Stalin regime until the mid-1980s. Jews were labeled “outsiders” with disloyal “cosmopolitan” ties to Israel and faced quotas in education and various professions. While some assimilated Jews lived “normal” lives, religious observance and cultural expression were suppressed and often forbidden by the government.
The Soviet state exercised anti-religious policies, promoted atheism, leading to the closure of synagogues, the banning of religious teachings, and the suppression of traditional Jewish schools. The state-controlled media often engaged in anti-Semitic propaganda. In short, Jewish cultural and religious life was suppressed under strict policies of discrimination.
When I turned 13 years old, unexpectedly, my dear aunt Lilya invited me to the restaurant to celebrate my birthday. In fact, it was my first visit to the restaurant.
In the former Soviet Union, privileged individuals dined at a small number of high-end state-run restaurants. These restaurants, favored by the government officials and cultural celebrities, offered a level of cuisine and service unavailable or unaffordable to the public. Access to these exclusive establishments was often gained through connections, special permits, or the ability to pay the exorbitant prices, which could equal a significant portion of an average worker’s monthly wage.
My aunt helped me to navigate through the menu and ordered appropriate food and beverage items for me. Then she presented to me a birthday gift (a soccer ball), leaned toward me and whispered: “Sasha, son, in a Jewish tradition, today on your 13th birthday, you become an adult.” Her voice was trembling, and tears appeared in the corner of her eyes. “Today is your Bar Mitzvah, a Jewish transition to religious adulthood. Remember this day,” she continued.
As I reminded my daughter during her Bat Mitzvah held in Juneau in 2004, “Elena, in America, we do not whisper our prayers, and we do not hide our faith. If we glow together as a nation and believe in the wisdom of Judeo-Christian values and traditions, our nation will survive and prosper.”
Alexander Dolitsky was born and raised in Kiev in the former Soviet Union. He received an M.A. in history from Kiev Pedagogical Institute, Ukraine in 1976; an M.A. in anthropology and archaeology from Brown University in 1983; and enrolled in the Ph.D. program in anthropology at Bryn Mawr College from 1983 to 1985, where he was also lecturer in the Russian Center. In the USSR, he was a social studies teacher for three years and an archaeologist for five years for the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. In 1978, he settled in the United States. Dolitsky visited Alaska for the first time in 1981, while conducting field research for graduate school at Brown. He then settled first in Sitka in 1985 and then in Juneau in 1986. From 1985 to 1987, he was U.S. Forest Service archaeologist and social scientist. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Alaska Southeast from 1985 to 1999; Social Studies Instructor at the Alyeska Central School, Alaska Department of Education and Yukon-Koyukuk School District from 1988 to 2006; and Director of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center from 1990 to 2022. From 2006 to 2010, Alexander Dolitsky served as a Delegate of the Russian Federation in the United States for the Russian Compatriots program. He has done 30 field studies in various areas of the former Soviet Union (including Siberia), Central Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and the United States (including Alaska). Dolitsky was a lecturer on the World Discoverer, Spirit of Oceanus, and Clipper Odyssey vessels in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions. He was a Project Manager for the WWII Alaska-Siberia Lend Lease Memorial, which was erected in Fairbanks in 2006. Dolitsky has published extensively in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology and ethnography. His more recent publications include Fairy Tales and Myths of the Bering Strait Chukchi, Ancient Tales of Kamchatka, Tales and Legends of the Yupik Eskimos of Siberia, Old Russia in Modern America: Living Traditions of the Russian Old Believers in Alaska, Allies in Wartime: The Alaska-Siberia Airway During World War II, Spirit of the Siberian Tiger: Folktales of the Russian Far East, Living Wisdom of the Russian Far East: Tales and Legends from Chukotka and Alaska, and Pipeline to Russia: The Alaska-Siberia Air Route in World War II.
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Alexander, great article. Thanks for giving us a prelude of where the U.S. is headed if we don’t sound the shofar, and for sharing the timeless advice you gave your daughter in Juneau in 2004.
The jewish religion does not equate to the current murderous criminal government of israel.
Thank you Alexander for this insightful article and for sharing the experience ce of your blessing!!
One of largest ironies of the Soviet era was the creation of a rigid class system. The government worker and connected class and the mass of people beneath them, along with executing Orthodox priests, and persecuting Jews.
It doesn’t appear the many other religions in the Soviet Union were persecuted as badly as Jews and Christians.
After abandoning a functioning Republic and decimating an educated, very stable and wealthy middle class, we also have an oligarch/government elite and an ever increasing mass of poverty without opportunity for buying homes or future for most.
Religious faith is rapidly disappearing and government policies make a mockery of values.
Russia was able to weather the collapse of the Soviet system, and is on a trajectory of ascendancy, religious freedom and creation of a large, educated and well off middle class. Despite the ongoing predatory attempts of the US and Europe to exploit their resources and people.
I pray our people will weather the financial and social chaos soon upon us from the failing global empire model we took over from Britain, post WWI – WWII.
We see the pathetic gaggle of European “leaders” who rule over cesspools of incompetence that were all once powerful, global empires. Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Poland-Lithuania, ect. They are reduced to societal ruin, bankruptcy and drug addicted puppet idiot leaders.
So true, Brian. Europe is finished, and we maybe next.
I had the feeling there was something special about the author! Thank you for sharing you!
You say, “The First Amendment prevents religious discrimination….”
The text of the First Amendment is: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
As you can see, it does not prevent you from refusing to marry, date, hire, or do business with a Baptist. Perhaps you were thinking of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Wayne, thank you for your observation. I just paraphrased the First Amendment in my own words and understanding. I do not see a contradiction here: “The First Amendment prevents religious discrimination, protects the right of all people of the U.S. land, regardless of their faith by ensuring that the government cannot establish a religion or force citizens to conform to a particular set of beliefs. It also fosters a diverse society by allowing people to live, speak, and act according to their beliefs peacefully and publicly; religious freedom preserves a diverse and pluralistic society.”
Wayne, here is another interpretation of the First Amendment in regard to the freedom of religion: “Freedom of religion was added to the First Amendment to prevent the government from establishing a national religion or interfering with citizens’ religious practices, reflecting a desire to avoid the religious conflicts of Europe and accommodate the diverse beliefs of the American colonists, some of whom had fled religious persecution. This dual protection, enshrined in the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause, ensures a separation of church and state while safeguarding individual religious liberty.”
Professor Dolitsky, I try not to add more meaning to any text than the writer intended. Moreover, I suggest the tendency to do so contributes to turmoil and disagreement in the body politic. I agree the amendments defends “freedom of religion.” However, it does not prohibit private parties from discriminating based upon religion. That prohibition came later in law rather than amendment; for better or worse.
Professor Dolitsky, I try not to add more meaning to any text than the writer intended. Moreover, I suggest the tendency to do so contributes to turmoil and disagreement in the body politic. I agree the amendment defends “freedom of religion.” However, it does not prohibit private parties from discriminating based upon religion. That prohibition came later in law rather than amendment; for better or worse.
Alex,
Most European countries in relatively recent history have a tradition of being Catholic or Protestant. Essentially a merger of state and church.
I would argue that in America, the essential Constitutional concept of the avoidance of establishing an official state religion, has been misconstrued to weaponize forcing athieism and a lack of societal accepted morality on our youth.
The literacy rate has fallen, and continues to fall, to a catastrophically low 74% at the most basic ability of reading and writing in only one language. Pathetic. Countries like Guinea Bissau do a better job for their youth than we do.
This is a consequence of the monopoly that the public schools have on public financial resources.
The dysfunctional monstrosity of the Department of Education that creates and enforces policies that cause the decline must be legislatively eliminated. And the ground salted to prevent this intellectual cancer from growing again.
All taxes levied to support education belong to the child on a pro rated basis. Their parents must be able to shop for the best educational facility they see fit for their child with the resources credited to said child.
We are constantly exposed to hypocritical propoganda hype of living in a country that enshrines capitalism and free enterprise with several critical exceptions.
Why isn’t the provision of the most essential service of education predicated on the principals of free enterprise ?
Private parochial education is extremely competitive in quality and cost comparison to the dysfunctional athiest/pseudo Marxist public schooling.
Another enjoyable, informative article. I thoroughly enjoy reading all your writings and enjoy your unique perspective. Thank you!