As I mentioned in my previous blog, my allusions to diverse types of music appears throughout the novel, A Human Rights Odyssey.  This is certainly true of Rabbi Levin's visit to Kiev when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.  This visit mirrors my own visit in 1981.

When the plane landed in Kiev, the Boney M version of the song, By the Rivers of Babylon, played through the speakers.  How ironic!  Many of the Jews still living in Kiev and for that matter, the rest of the Soviet Union, felt as if they were exiled from the Jewish homeland.  The Soviet Union, in effect, was the twentieth century version of Babylon!

Later in the visit, the various movements of Dvorak's Czech Suite played into my ears.  The first movement, which has a very peaceful and pastoral sound, played into my ears when my partner and I were walking down the banks of the Dnieper River.  The last movement, which is very dynamic and ethnic, played into my ears while I was visiting a Hebrew teacher and again while the AEREFLOT plane was about take off for our next destination, Leningrad.    The Czech Suite has strong nationalistic overtones.   So did the Russian Refusenik movement where many Jews yearned to be in Israel.  That dream came true for Lev Elbert who made Aliyah with his family many years later.