This Passover Is Special for Moscow Jews : Anti-Semitism: A dozen gather in a makeshift synagogue and mean it when they say, ‘Next year in Jerusalem.’

For the dozen Soviet Jews gathered in a makeshift synagogue to celebrate Passover on Monday night, the traditional holiday salutation “Next year in Jerusalem” took on a special meaning. All of them intend to have emigrated by then.

Despite what has been referred to as a Jewish spring in the Soviet Union--brought on by President Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s policies, which have permitted a cultural flowering and more freedom of worship--Jews by the hundreds of thousands are seeking to leave.

Most cite soaring anti-Semitism as the main factor driving them from the country.

“The situation is very dangerous, and there is a growing terror,” said Anna Paukov, a Jewish activist who is scheduled to emigrate to Israel with her husband later this month. “People feel our country is going to the dogs, and they want a scapegoat. It will be the Jews.”

The Paukovs received a verbal threat just Monday from two of their neighbors to stop their pro-Jewish activities or expect to pay for it.

Last week, a 24-year-old Jewish lawyer died of injuries suffered when her Moscow apartment was set on fire. Jewish leaders in the capital say she had been the target of anti-Jewish threats, and they believe anti-Semites are responsible for her death.

In addition to anti-Semitism, some Soviet Jews say that, ironically, the greater freedom under Gorbachev to learn about their faith contributed to their growing desire to leave.

“The more I have learned about Jewish traditions and my relatives in Israel and other places, the less I feel I have in common with this country,” said Alexander Truskinovsky, a lanky 20-year-old whose older brother already has emigrated to the United States.

According to Soviet figures, 235,000 Soviet citizens emigrated last year. The statistic is not broken down by nationality, but Jews are thought to be the single largest group.

Western officials estimate that perhaps 30% of the country’s estimated 1.7 million Jews are actively seeking exit visas. Jewish activists here expect the figure to climb this year.

Those who gathered in a sparsely furnished three-room apartment-turned-synagogue in eastern Moscow on Monday night mostly discussed problems of the past and hopes for the future over their light Passover meal.

The holiday commemorates the Hebrews’ flight from Egyptian enslavement. The Soviet Jews had been unable to find the horseradish traditionally served to represent the bitter herbs of enslavement, so they used cucumbers, always in plentiful supply, instead.

“It doesn’t matter what is on the table. It matters what is in our heads,” said Anna Paukov.

Only one of those present, 22-year-old Mikhail Solomonik, had not yet received permission from the Soviet Union to emigrate, although the United States has processed his application and granted him refugee status.

The sticking point in his case is that his father, divorced from his mother when he was just 2 weeks old, has so far refused to sign the necessary documents. Solomonik is hoping that pressure from the Americans may help resolve his case.

Jews wishing to emigrate to Israel also are facing new obstacles. The Soviet Union canceled plans for direct flights to Israel in February after Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir was quoted as saying that Soviet Jews emigrating to Israel would be settled in the occupied West Bank.

Hungary offered flights that would bring Soviet Jews to Israel but briefly suspended them after Arab terrorist groups threatened to bomb airplanes carrying the emigres. But the problem is likely to be short-term, officials say.

Solomonik believes that the new freedoms for Jews in the Soviet Union are only superficial.

“These improvements in the visible areas are unimportant as long as daily life remains as difficult as ever for Jews. We are still targets of discrimination,” he said.

Virtually all of the Soviet Jews at the Passover dinner have memories of personal experiences with anti-Semitism.