S. PETERSBURG, Russia — Sixteen-year-old Freda Soshkolskaya struggles to pinpoint exactly what it is that draws her to the Small Synagogue here every Shabbat. "It's just a feeling that brings me here," she says, coming out of services with a few friends one Shabbat morning.

But Soshkolskaya is far from the only person, young or old, who is finding new religious inspiration in this former Russian capital.

While no accurate figures are available, leaders of the Jewish community estimate that about 60,000 to 80,000 Jews still live in S. Petersburg. And though only a small percentage of them come to synagogue regularly, the numbers are on the increase.

"It has now become a tradition for many people to participate several times a year," says Rabbi Menachem Mendel Pewzer, chief rabbi of S. Petersburg and its Chabad-Lubavitch emissary. "This is a step up from what many are used to."

Chabad-Lubavitch has a long history in this palatial metropolis, beginning with the incarceration on trumped up charges of the first Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in the notorious Peter and Paul Fortress, for spreading the movement's teachings. The Rebbe was eventually acquitted by Czar Alexander I.

Each successive Lubavitcher Rebbe spent time in the city — the seat of government in Czarist times — usually on mercy missions on behalf of the Jewish people to stop pogroms, revoke anti-Jewish decrees and maintain the integrity of Jewish education. Their efforts sometimes resulted in their own incarceration.

In the 1920's both the sixth and seventh Rebbes (Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn and Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson) resided in the city under Communist regime.

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn ran his USSR-wide underground operation to keep Judaism alive from Leningrad, as the city was renamed under the Communists, at times with the help of his future son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Eventually the sixth Rebbe was arrested and sentenced to death for his "counter-revolutionary activities." His arrest sparked a worldwide protest, and, for the first time in Soviet history, the authorities twice commuted his sentence until he was finally freed a month later.

REPAIRING THE DAMAGE OF THE PAST

While many Jews here are proud of this rich history, years of Soviet oppression deprived them of even basic knowledge of many of Judaism's traditions and practices.

"We have to undo those years of Communism," Rabbi Pewzner says, "but we've finally begun to see a steady increase in people's awareness of Jewish holidays and traditions."

This year's Purim festival brought nearly 1,000 people to the Great Choral Synagogue, which sits across the courtyard from the Small Synagogue on Lermontovsky Prospekt. Most notable was the larger number of younger people, including many families with children.

Queen Esther and Queen Vashti appeared to be the most popular costumes among the girls, even if clowns and Batmans outnumbered miniature Mordechais among boys.

"Six or seven years ago, people didn't know what Purim was," says Rabbi Pewzner, who arrived here from New York with his family in 1992.

Sitting among the joyful crowd, pensioner Leah Lokshina reveled in watching the youth. "I used to spend holidays with my family," she explains, and now she treats the synagogue's children like her own.

On Passover, more than 1,000 attended the Pewzners' public seder, in addition to private seders held around town.

Shabbat services have seen similar growth.

NEW AND VARIED COMMUNITIES

Each week about 115 people gather in the Great Choral Synagogue. Some of the elderly can still recall attending with their parents and grandparents when they were children. As the Torah is raised, the women in the majestic gallery raise their hands in front of their eyes or reach out toward it lovingly. From down below Rabbi Pewzner addresses the assembled in Yiddish, followed by a talk in Russian by community President Mark Grubarg.

It is in the Small Synagogue, however, that the most exciting growth is occurring.

Young people, like Freda Soshkolskaya, flock to the small brick building for services, programs and classes run by Rabbi Chaim Teleshinsky, himself a "product" of Chabad's local outreach.

Many spend Friday evenings after services gathered at a nearby residence for a warm Shabbat meal and more learning and discussion.

There is also a small Sephardic minyan organized by the city's community of Georgian Jews, which now meets weekly as well as on holidays.

Questioned about the community spreading itself so thin Rabbi Pewzner responds, "If all the services came together it may be more impressive for show, but we strive to help people feel comfortable with what they know to be their tradition."

THE KEY TO SUCCESS: STUDY

The Choral Synagogue, under the leadership of Rabbi Pewzner and his wife, Sarah, along with a lay board, offers a lot more than Shabbat, holiday and daily services. Enrollment in the Hebrew School is now at 400. Seventy adults are enrolled in classes on Hebrew, Jewish law and Jewish mysticism. This past winter 250 people went to the city's outskirts for a family camp.

The city is also host to a popular Russian-language Jewish Website called Yeshivah Online.

Mrs. Pewzner, who runs the Hebrew School and leads classes and programs for women, points to an interesting generational shift in the community. "We are finding that the children are having a strong influence on their parents," she observes. "Sons are convincing their fathers to be circumcised, daughters are convincing their mothers to light Shabbat candles.

"Through the children an entire generation is changing," Mrs. Pewzner explains.

SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING RENOVATION

Hundreds of elderly receive aid through the synagogue's social services program. More than 150 pensioners eat a warm lunch at the synagogue every day of the week.

For Faina Pesakhova, who was born in 1917 when the Communist Revolution swept through the country, lunchtime provides her with a chance to socialize and eat a balanced meal. Her government pension amounts to about $18 a month, barely enough to put food on the table. "Coming here gives me a chance to get out of my communal apartment for a break," she says.

With the emergence of a viable Jewish community, local Jewish leaders are excited about a $6 million renovation project to restore the former elegance of the 100-year-old Choral Synagogue.

When completed, the synagogue will offer, in addition to its educational facilities, a lecture hall, kosher restaurant, renovated mikvah, and seniors' lounge.

Community Vice President and Project Director Tamazy Sepiashwily says the project has a number of important goals. "First of all, it reminds people that there is a synagogue. It will allow us to welcome more people and make a community center. [And in addition to the services] young people will also be able to busy themselves with other things in the time between prayer. They can relax and socialize," he says.

The renovation project is set to reverse decades of physical deterioration. Scaffolding is already up along the fa!ade of the Moorish-style building whose dome towers rise above the neighborhood, not far from the Mariinsky [formerly Kirov] Theater.

Voluminous drawings, including old postcards that depict the synagogue's original design, help lay out the plans for the work. "We [are determining] what kinds of paint we need, what is the best approach to repairing the walls, what are the structural and electrical needs," Sepiashwily says.

Raising the funds is the next challenge. The project received its first boost from a $1 million grant from the philanthropic Safra banking family of Switzerland, who also funded the restoration of the Small Synagogue. Once additional funding is secured, Sepiashwily says, the renovation work could be completed in three years.

"This project too is helping to foster Jewish awareness," Rabbi Pewzner says. "The community is growing."