"Hello, my friend," Yoisef tells me, with a huge smile on his face. He always seems so happy to see me when I visit. "How are things in New York?"

"Do you know that as a child, Yiddish was my first language? Unfortunately, I haven't spoken it in decades and other than some old Yiddish songs, I remember very little."

"I was a history professor," he says, "but today I'm retired. Life is hard for the retired in Russia. It's hard to make ends meet."

“I used to come to pray more often, but I haven't been well. Shlecht," he continues, pointing down to his leg. "My foot is shlecht (no good), and I can't afford to take care of it. Who knows," he says, with the saddest look in his eyes, "this may be the last time you see me."

Credit: Yanky Ascher | Souls on the Don