F.R.E.E. Russian Jewry Center

In an effort to free jews living behind the iron curtain, Jewish leaders the world over raised the cry, "Let My people go." When Russian Jews were permitted to leave the country of their birth and immigrate to lands granting religious freedom, the Lubavitcher Rebbe urged us not to forget the second half of the verse, " so that they may serve Me ." Heading this call, Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe - FREE, was formed, with branches in the USA, Canada, and Europe.

In 1990, the Detroit branch of FREE was established under the leadership of Rabbi Melech Silberberg, with Rabbi Yosef Misholovin serving as spiritual leader, mentor and counselor. Through the support of our caring and generous community, Soviet Jews in Detroit are reclaiming their heritage.

Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe (FREE) was founded in 1969 by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson . It was led by a group of young ex-Soviet “partisans” to cater to the broad range of needs of Jewish refugees from the Former Soviet Union. FREE has helped tens of thousands of these Jews, who often arrived in the U.S. with nothing but the clothes on their back, and precious little else.

FREE has continued to reach out to these Jews, feeding their bodies and nourishing their souls through housing, rent, medical and employment assistance, and education in Torah and Mitzvot. Serving as the first such Organization in the United States, FREE has become America’s largest Jewish organization serving Russian immigrants with their spiritual and material needs.

From FREEofMichigan.org