Machanaim is an organization dealing with the spiritual absorption ofJewish people from the formerUSSR inIsrael. The movement's work and its goals spawned its name, theHebrew wordמַחֲנָיִם fromGenesis 32:3 meaning "two camps", in this case referring toJerusalem andMoscow.
Machanaim's founders are Rabbi Dr. Zeev Dashevsky, Dr.Pinchas Polonsky, and Dr. Michael Kara-Ivanov. Machanaim began inMoscow behind theIron Curtain in 1979, during the period ofBrezhnev stagnation, as a group of young people who gathered to studyJewish history and tradition and pass on this knowledge on to their fellow Jews. Over time it developed into an organized underground network for studyingTorah,Jewish philosophy, andJewish law. Almost all the group members wererefuseniks. Classes were sometimes interrupted by theKGB.
In 1987 most of the Machanaim activists received permission toemigrate to Israel. There they set two main goals: to work with new immigrants and to provide assistance in Jewish education for those Jews still in theCIS.
The organization has produced many books and classes, especially forconversion to Judaism. Its other main projects include teachingJudaism via the media, running asynagogue and other activities inMa'aleh Adumim. It is an important proponent ofReligious Zionism among Russian-speaking Jews.
Machanaim is also the name of a popular game played at Jewish summer camps and schools. It is sometimes spelledMachanayim.
