Rabbi Nachman's followers celebrated Rosh Hashanah by marking his grave in small numbers from previous years • "A historic moment for Hassidim who have never experienced such a situation"
Chassidim marking the tomb of Rebbe Nachman Bauman // Photo: Yehuda Peretz
2,000 Hasidim celebrated Rosh Hashanah tonight (Friday) marking the grave of Rebbe Nachman in the city of Uman in Ukraine.
The number of followers who came to Zion was the lowest since the fall of the Iron Curtain, this is due to the decision of the Ukrainian government to close the country's borders to foreign citizens.
"The Hasidim pray to see their friends, their rabbis or their families," says Yehuda Peretz, who is at the site.
"Days of a murky atmosphere on the streets of Uman without the massive movement of Hasidim. Without music and dancing in the streets. Without the bastions. When Rabbi Nachman's tomb is almost empty of people. When there is no queue for mikvahs."
Peretz says that tonight the dam was "broken" and the followers burst into dancing and joy.
"There is an inner fulfillment that this year an artist will be like 100 years ago when there was an epidemic in Ukraine and when few were privileged to visit the grave," says Peretz.
All the irons and checkpoints were removed at the same time and all the devotees who were buried in the apartments on Pushkina Street went out with cheers and roars towards the Zion and said the last apologies of the year with great joy with musical instruments and dancing.
"This is a historic moment for storks, who, like in Israel, have never experienced such a complex period. The corona year will be remembered as a year with the fewest followers in Uman since the fall of the Iron Curtain," says Peretz.