One Man’s Mission to Reignite Jewish Pride in the Caucasian Community

You might walk past them on the street and not even notice. They look like ordinary people, going about their day. But beneath the surface, they are quietly changing the world.

As part of our series “Good People Along the Way,” we search for those rare individuals who do meaningful, holy work without needing attention or praise. People who live for others, even when no one is watching. People who, as Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pincus once said, don’t just “talk about faith,” but live it.

One of these people is Yechezkel Mordechaev, the founder and manager of the “Or El” synagogue in Hadera. During our conversation, he opened up with warmth and sincerity, revealing the depth of his dedication, not only to the Caucasian Jewish community, but to the Jewish people as a whole. Through years of hard work, day and night, he has turned a once spiritually quiet corner of the city into a place full of life, learning, and connection to Torah.

The community he built didn’t stop with prayer services. His synagogue also helps those in need, comforts mourners, organizes charity projects, hosts Torah classes, and even runs math and physics lessons, drawing young people in with the message that Torah embraces all wisdom.

Yechezkel is 60 years old, a proud father of three married children and grandfather to eight grandchildren, may they all be healthy. “I came to Israel from the Caucasus, a mountainous region between Europe and Asia. It’s made up of Russian, Turkish, and Iranian cultures,” he explains. “Back in the Caucasus, I worked as an engineer in a large factory that produced alcoholic drinks. But 16 years ago, I made a life-changing decision to bring my family to Israel.”

Were you always observant?

“The foundation was there,” he says thoughtfully. “At home we had tradition. We knew what we were supposed to do—but we weren’t fully religious. When we moved to Harish in the Shomron (Samaria), we lived among a strong Torah community, and that’s where I began to grow spiritually.”

What makes the Caucasian Jewish community unique?

“We lived under Communism, with fear always present. And yet, we held on to our Judaism with deep self-sacrifice. People still did brit milah (circumcision), kept Shabbat, and tried to follow mitzvot (commandments), even in secret.”

And how did the idea for the synagogue begin?

“About eight years ago, I started reading many Russian books about Judaism and also worked hard on improving my Hebrew. The more I learned, the more I fell in love with Torah. I saw that many in the Caucasian community were drifting away, especially the younger generation. They didn’t know their own traditions, and I wanted to change that. I rented a small room in a building, and little by little, I started bringing people closer. I wanted them to discover the joy I had found.”

Who comes to your synagogue today?

“Everyone! Jews from all backgrounds sucha as Caucasian, Georgian, Israeli, Ashkenazi, Moroccan. Sometimes businessmen stop in to pray on their way to work. The room is very small, maybe it fits 15 people but as we say, ‘When there’s room in the heart, there’s room for everyone.’ No one has ever complained that it’s too crowded. We don’t yet have a women’s section, but women do come regularly to our Torah lectures and often ask for blessings and prayers. With Hashem’s help, we’ll get there too.”

What other activities take place in the synagogue?

“Once a week, we have a young Torah scholar, he’s a ba’al teshuvah (someone who returned to Judaism) who speaks both Russian and Hebrew. He gives classes on halacha (Jewish law), ethics, and deeper Jewish thought. People really love his shiurim (lessons). Sometimes we also bring in teachers for math and science to attract the youth. It’s our way of showing them that Torah embraces wisdom, and that our holy tradition values learning in every form.”

Yechezkel Mordechaev may not be a public figure, but in the eyes of his community, he is a true light, quiet, steady, and strong. Through kindness, wisdom, and unwavering faith, he is rebuilding Jewish pride and helping people fall in love with Torah, one heart at a time.