A tour
guide like Raphael is hard to find. Who can talk about the Holy Land better
than the person who was born and raised there? Raphael Musan-Levi is a native
Jerusalemite who conscientiously converted to Orthodoxy. He is well versed in
theology and history and speaks beautiful and idiomatic Russian. Luckily, I had
a voice recorder with me, so while our pilgrims were handing in the memorial
requests in the Church of Mary Magdalene, Raphael and I sat on a bench in the
monastery park and had a chat. This interview is now available for the readers
of Pravoslavnyi Vestnik [the original article was published in Pravoslavnyi
Vestnik]. We also provided some quotes from Raphael’s tour programs.
—Raphael,
your Russian is very good. It sounds as if you lived in Russia for a long time.
—I was
born in Jerusalem. My father was born in Jerusalem too, while my mother is
originally from England. Many generations of my family lived in Jerusalem. I
don’t really speak Russian that well, I often make mistakes, mix up the cases,
and so on. But I do know Russian, probably because I have a Russian soul.
I was
eleven years old when I came across a Russian textbook for English speakers. It
had a Russian alphabet in it. I was bored, so I started studying it. I wasn’t
sure why I was doing it—I lived in Jerusalem and my family was Jewish. I guess
Russian language played a certain role in my conversion to Orthodoxy. The first
prayer book I bought was in Church Slavonic. Later I found prayer books in
English and Hebrew, but I still say my prayers in Russian. Since I’m a member
of the Jerusalem Church, I also pray in Greek.
Somehow,
I was always drawn to Russia. I admired it. I like Russian literature very
much. At first, I read the translations, then I moved on to reading the
originals. I also worked in a Russian language theater. I learned my roles in
Hebrew at first, and then in Russian. Sometimes I learned the roles in Russian
right away. That is why I have a good vocabulary. As far as idiomatic
expressions are concerned, I learned them from my wife who is a Muscovite.
—Where
did you meet your better half?
—We
met at the theater where I was performing. Our daughter is two years and seven
months old now. She also speaks Russian. She understands English and we want
her to know this language too, because her grandmother speaks English. She must
know Hebrew also, of course. And if she picks up some Greek while talking to
Greek nuns, it would be great.
—Is it
natural for people to speak so many languages here?
—A
person living in Jerusalem simply must know Arabic, Greek, Russian and Hebrew.
Jerusalem is a city that unites the people of various tribes and beliefs, and,
most importantly, Orthodox people of various ethnicities. When Orthodox
Christians go on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, it is important for them to feel
that Orthodoxy is a universal religion, rather than regional. Naturally,
various people have their own customs and traditions. But the Church Rule and
the Gospel are for everybody. There could be some minor differences, but they
are not important. Holy Communion is one and the same for everyone. One can
particularly feel this in Jerusalem. I’ve visited cities in England and France
and I couldn’t get that feeling there.
—What
did you find attractive in Orthodoxy?
—It
was very easy for me. I’ve been a believer since childhood. I knew the Old
Testament and Jewish prayers. I was never an atheist. So, conversion to
Orthodoxy was very natural for me. All my life before that was a catechesis, a
preparation for the Orthodox faith. I’m surprised that most of the believing
Israelis don’t understand it. But for me it was a simple and natural
transformation. This may sound like an exaggeration, since most of the people
in this country do not have good feelings toward Christianity and some even
openly hate Christ and Christians.
I
never had this attitude. In this sense, my family was unusual. We always
communicated with various people, even though my parents were believing Jews.
Our neighbors were Protestants, some of my father’s coworkers were Muslim—we
always treated everybody well. Yet we knew that Judaism was our religion.
When I
became a teenager, I realized that either all of this was made up nonsense or
all the Old Testament prophesies were indeed about the coming of Christ, and
they all came true when Christ was born, crucified and resurrected. Basically,
I knew the Gospel when I was a teenager. But it was St. Paul’s Epistle to the
Romans that finally converted me to Orthodoxy. I believe that when you face
some difficulties in your life, it is very useful to read St. Paul’s epistles,
for there you can find answers to all your questions. So, you can say that I
was converted by St. Paul. He used to be a Pharisee, a devoted Jew and a
persecutor of Christians, and then Christ appeared to him. St. Paul’s example
and his epistles opened this world to me.
Why
did I choose Orthodoxy out of all possible denominations? Because only in
Orthodoxy I could find the continuation of the Church of the Old Testament and
it was the only denomination that had apostolic succession. It is not because
our Church is better or worse than others. Sometimes people say, “Yes, I would
like to be a Christian, but they have such problems… And their priests and
Patriarchs are so and so…” I converted to Orthodoxy when there were big problems
and even scandals in our Church. But I didn’t convert to Orthodoxy for the sake
of a good or a bad Patriarch; I did it to come to Christ.
I
wasn’t baptized right away. At first, I simply went to the Holy Sepulcher. You
can say that the divine grace of this holy site was very important. There I met
some priests who invited me to attend the Divine Liturgy that was celebrated at
night. Before that, I thought that people in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
only wandered aimlessly, but during that Liturgy I saw the Holy Sepulcher in a
different light. It is different during the day when there are tourists
wandering around; however, at night, during the Divine Liturgy, everything is
the way it should be.
It
took a long time for me to make sure that I really wanted to convert. You can
say that I went through a certain catechesis and became a practicing Christian
even before I was baptized, which was also important. I’ve learned the prayer
book and more or less knew the Liturgy—in Russian, of course. The priests also
participated in this process. I can’t say that they were training me in any
special way, but it was their prayers that ultimately got me to baptism. After
my baptism, I found a spiritual father. He is from the Jerusalem Church, the
Jerusalem Patriarchate. He guided me, and it was he who gave me his blessing to
work with pilgrims. I am thankful to God that He didn’t leave me without help—I
was baptized, I met people who are praying for me, I have my wife and my
daughter as well as my work with pilgrims, which is very inspiring for me.
—It
seems to me that working with pilgrims is not easy.
—When
we see Orthodox pilgrims from Russia or other countries here in the Holy Land,
and it is a big help for us. Our country is predominantly Jewish and Muslim,
and most of the people belong to those religions. That is why it is important
when Orthodox people from other countries come here and show the local Orthodox
that they are not alone and that Jerusalem still holds an important part in the
hearts of the Orthodox people from all over the world, because it is our
spiritual capital.
—Is
there anything special about the pilgrims from Russia?
—Pilgrims
from Russia are very congenial. You can tell that they love the Holy Land. But
because life in Russia is quite hectic nowadays, when Russians come here you
can feel the energy of the modern world in them right away. Usually, it takes
two or three days for people to get accustomed to the different rhythm of life
in the Holy Land. But by the time they get used to it, it is time for them to
return home. So, it is good, of course, to see pilgrims who have kept their
Russian spirit intact, because sometimes people don’t have that Russian soul
even though they were born in Russia.
Thankfully,
I mostly work with “Radonezh”, and when I work with other pilgrimage services,
I select them carefully. It is difficult to talk about holy sites with people
who don’t know and don’t want to know anything and who for some reason bought a
ticket to the Holy Land instead of going to a resort in Turkey. But I’m happy
to work even with these people, because sometimes people change. It shows that
despite their superficial atheism, they have very deep Orthodox roots. Maybe
they have ancestors who pray for them, or maybe their ancestors were saints,
who can tell?
Naturally,
besides having theological knowledge, a guide should be able to solve various
problems that may arise here. Thank God, I’m getting more and more experienced.
When I just started working here, I made big mistakes, so I’m very sorry and
ask forgiveness of all people whom I offended by my behavior or misunderstanding.
—Raphael,
what is the most important thing about the pilgrimage to the Holy Land?
—It is
important for people to change their ways of life after coming here. If a
person returns from the Holy Land and continues to live just like they did
before the pilgrimage, it is very bad.
—Is
pilgrimage a time of temptations?
—When
I talk with pilgrims, I see more things that give me joy and hope than any
temptations. Even with this group there were various temptations, but I see
people receiving divine grace. Even though it is still difficult for them,
because something wasn’t provided to them or some event wasn’t well-organized;
but these are trifling matters, there are more important things.
Temptations
are always there, and that is good. The enemy uses various ways to ruin
people’s impressions from the trip. But there is nobody and nothing that can
separate us from God. The enemy attempts to present some hurdles, but people
cannot be stopped, if they have a heart and desire to overcome them. That’s all
it takes. If a person travelled to the Holy Land instead of Honduras or Hawaii,
it means that this person needed to do it, even if he or she didn’t understand
it. Every man is a whole world. And each group of pilgrims is a whole world
too.
Some
pilgrims have experienced serious tragedies and come here in hope of getting
help. Some people come because their spouses are non-believers and they hope
that things will change after this trip. Sometimes it happens, but doesn’t
happen always, because there’s divine grace, and there’s man’s will. God does
not force people to be saved—it depends on our heart and on the choices we
make. You can’t force a person to be religious, even if you love this person
very much. For example, I love my mother very much, but I can’t force her to
become an Orthodox Christian. She’s not Orthodox, she’s not baptized. I love
her and hope that God will have mercy on her. Although, I know that it is very
difficult for unbelievers and people who weren’t baptized.
It is
the same with other people. They could be Christian, but fail to understand
anything. I can love them very much, but it doesn’t mean that everything is
going to be alright with them. Sometimes women bring their children here
thinking that if they force them to visit holy sites, their children will
become Christian. However, one needs to change his or her way of life to do
that.
I
think it is useful that people who come here feel the simplicity that has been
preserved here in both social and church life. We have clerics with diverse personalities,
but most of them are easily accessible. Here pilgrims see people who basically
lead a rural way of life, and if after returning home a pilgrim would use the
harmful modern technologies at least a little bit less, it would be good
because so many souls are lost because of these technologies. Elder Paisios the
Athonite also used to say that one must become a different person after a
pilgrimage.
Svetlana
Ladina
spoke
with Raphael Musan-Levi
Translation
by Talyb Samedov
Pravoslavnyi
Vestnik
12/1/2021
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