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Rabbi Uman: "Government conduct has led to chaos, I fear antisemitic incidents" | Israel today

2020-08-30T11:04:43.248Z


| Jewish NewsRabbi Jan is interviewed for the first time since the outbreak of the crisis • He notes that thousands have already come to Uman: "People fled the country, sentenced the public to an untenable sentence" • Prof. Gamzo's letter, he says, leads to anti-Semitism: "A man pulled a gun on followers "• On his recovery from Corona:" I was on his deathbed " Chassidim near the grave of Rabbi Nachman Mauman...


Rabbi Jan is interviewed for the first time since the outbreak of the crisis • He notes that thousands have already come to Uman: "People fled the country, sentenced the public to an untenable sentence" • Prof. Gamzo's letter, he says, leads to anti-Semitism: "A man pulled a gun on followers "• On his recovery from Corona:" I was on his deathbed "

  • Chassidim near the grave of Rabbi Nachman Mauman // Photo: Shachar Moshe Zaguri

Rabbi Yaakov Jan, rabbi of the city of Uman, warns in a conversation with "Israel Today" about chaos as a result of the ban on coming to the city for Rosh Hashanah, clarifies that all Hasidim can not be forbidden to come to the place and warns that antisemitic attacks may occur as a result of the corona. In the first conversation since the outbreak of the crisis, he addresses the burning issues at stake and demands to immediately reach an agreed outline.

"We are between two high mountains - woe to us if we say no to the artist and woe to us if we say yes to the arrival. The rabbis are very busy, and the problem is not simple. On the one hand Rabbi Nachman's command to reach the artist is very strong, but on the other hand the situation must not be ignored." Tells about the difficult dilemma that the Breslav rabbis are currently facing, between the hammer and the anvil. "That's why we let everyone make the decision on their own and we try our best to help as much as possible, so that whoever comes to the artist will keep the guidelines. We put our own people as a kind of policemen who will enforce the guidelines."

In recent weeks, about 2,000 followers have come to Uman and in addition there are many who are stuck in various airports around the world, after being banned from entering Ukraine. Rabbi Jan points out that contrary to the stigma, everyone in Zion observes the rules. "Everyone here tries very hard, wearing masks and keeping their distance. Breslav is made up of bruises, so it's very difficult to put one shepherd on them. It's very difficult to put a bridle on all the storks, but I thought it would be much worse. The followers who came are very disciplined and listen to instructions."

Despite the ban by the state, more Chassidim intend to come to Uman to pray on Rosh Hashanah to mark the grave of Rabbi Nachman, the founder of Chassidut. Thus, Sharon Kanfo, one of the well-known followers of Hasidism, made it clear that he intends to reach the city by any means, "If there are flights to Abu Dhabi, say through the United Arab Emirates to Uman," he told Israel Today last week.

"You have to understand that the Breslavs gave their lives over the years in order to reach Zion," explains Rabbi Jan. He notes that prior to the letter from Corona Commissioner Prof. Roni Gamzo the winds in Ukraine were different. "I sat down with the deputy interior minister a month ago in a very limited conversation and we saw that the president's opinion was in favor of the entry of followers. Until the Israelis stirred the cauldron, nothing happened."

"I shouted and told the decision-makers to be smart - that this is a decree that the public is unable to abide by," he says of the Israeli demand to ban followers from entering the nation. "Stopping the Hasidim is like burying our heads in the sand. The decisions made were made recklessly, it was blindness to see the past. Do not rush to make hasty and difficult decisions without judgment, look what chaos took place. After all, it was not just Gamzo, it was Bibi Netanyahu. "Can send such a thing without permission. A wise leader should think about how to accept his conversions and not oppose him. Be wise to build an orderly outline and let the followers come up with discretion. Instead they acted recklessly and banned completely. It hurts so much, my heart is bleeding."

The result, says Rabbi Jan, is that people may completely ignore the guidelines, as an act of refusal. "Once you create a reality where the followers come in no way, you cause war and people will not want to keep the guidelines. You let the lawlessness that is rooted in every person, wherever he is, go out - because if you are in war then it is war to the end. "One step forward, and if they do not do so, they bring destruction because everyone will be disrespectful. Every teacher in a school has wayward students, but a good teacher knows how to put them in the groove."

The situation that has arisen, says the mayor of Uman, is one of chaos and chaos, as many have arrived a full month early, and he fears that with the arrival of more followers the situation will only deteriorate. "Instead of arriving a week before Rosh Hashanah, families are coming now. Look what is happening at the borders - whole families are stuck without food and drink. People are asking for mercy. Why create chaos? The government in Israel has made a decision that will be remembered forever."

"We are very confused," he answers the question of what will happen in the coming weeks. "Usually Governor Shiner's hospitality run by Eliezer Carlebach operates during Rosh Hashanah week, but this year it has already opened. People fled the country, came without anything. This is a poor population that came here. How much their love for Rabbi Nachman and the Rosh Hashanah commandment works on them." .

Rabbi Jan warns that the reality in which Hasidim are portrayed as carriers of the virus could lead to dangerous antisemitic incidents. "I am afraid of anti-Semitism," he emphasizes. "Prof. Gamzo's letter was circulated in all the streets of Uman and has already led to problematic events." Over the weekend, a video was circulated in which residents of Bauman confronted followers and called on them to pass. In another case, the rabbi recounts, "a man threw two scooter riders on the road and went out on them with a gun. We are in an illusory reality."

The mayor of Uman, Alexander Tsabari, who is considered one of the leaders of the opposition to the aliyah of the Hasidim to Uman, is acting in Rabbi Jan's favor for foreign motives and not for fear of Corona. "He is not acceptable to the local public and from him he received good treatment. Suddenly he turned around because he has an election, he found a way to ignite the fire. The Ukrainians are very afraid of disease and rightly so, and he takes advantage of it - paints everyone infected and creates fear in the people. Beating. "

"Am I not afraid of the virus? My heart is vibrating," he says. A few months ago, Rabbi Jan contracted the virus and was hospitalized in critical condition. "I went through it myself. I was on my deathbed and to this day I am recovering," says the mayor of Uman. He said, "If one person falls ill as a result of the gathering on Rosh Hashanah there will be tremendous noise in the world, but I can not stop them all even if I want to. It has to be realistic."

Now, he is calling on decision makers to make a decision on an agreed outline quickly. "This pressure must be stopped. If they can understand what I said, a solution can be reached. Time is short and work is busy. Within two days, the outline must be set in motion to stop this chaos." 

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2020-08-30

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