From his rat-infested cell, Ephraim Kholmyansky outsmarted his KGB captors

Photos: Elchanan Kotler, family archives

As a child in Moscow, Ephraim Kholmyansky knew nothing of his Jewish roots, but like so many others of his generation, a spark was somehow ignited. And not only did he learn Hebrew and Jewish observance, in the 1970s and 80s he headed a clandestine network of Hebrew teachers all over the USSR — until he was arrested and thrown into a rat-infested cell, where, during months of incarceration, he learned to outsmart his KGB captors

Võru, Estonia, July 1984

“Where do I take him?” the policeman on duty asked his superior.

“Take him to number one.”

The door of the nearest cell swung open with a grating shriek of metal, and a moment later, I found myself inside. The door slammed shut. Stunned, I stood there in the dark… Hashem yeracheim, the stench! This was a nightmare. I felt sick, unable to breathe. Suddenly, a wild rage seized me, and I began pounding furiously on the metal door, but to no avail.

It’s been 40 years since Ephraim Kholmyansky was arrested by the KGB on trumped-up charges. Kholmyansky, a computer hardware engineer who organized a massive network of Hebrew language and Judaic classes throughout the USSR, endured brutal conditions and psychological torture during his 18 months of imprisonment. But he did not only endure; he heroically defied his captors. With constant prayer, bitachon, and a keen understanding of the KGB’s psychology, Kholmyansky managed to beat the KGB at their own game.

How did someone who, growing up, was barely aware that he was Jewish, become such a passionate activist for Torah, Judaism, and Israel?

How did he run a vast Hebrew network in 20 cities across the USSR, right under the nose of the KGB?

And how did he manage to hold his own against the KGB even in the most inhumane conditions?