A week before Hanukkah and the Jewish communities in Ukraine are preparing for the Festival of Lights.
The heads of the Jewish communities are debating how to celebrate when the war continues in the background.
The majority of the country's citizens are in a complete state of emergency most of the day and many of them are under curfew.
In recent weeks, the rabbis of the communities and Chabad emissaries have been preparing for the distribution of thousands of Hanukkah kits to the Jews of the communities in every corner of Ukraine. The kits include a Hanukkah book for children, Hanukkah fees, informational brochures for adults, a menorah and candles, spinning wheels, a packaged donut, chocolate coins and sweet snacks.
The Hanukkah kits are currently being sent to the Jewish communities by JRNU - Chabad's rescue center in Ukraine, and will be packed in each Jewish community by local volunteers. In addition, the Jews of the communities will also receive special food packages that will brighten their Hanukkah days.
The Hanukkah packages sent to thousands of Ukrainian Jews, photo: JRNU
The communities are also debating whether to celebrate the holiday by placing the large menorah in public places.
On the one hand, there is the desire to celebrate the ancient Jewish holiday and make the Jews of the community happy.
On the other hand, during a war, placing a menorah could be perceived as a lack of consideration for the rest of the citizens.
Some of the municipalities have given their consent to place the menorahs to convey a kind of "business as usual".
Other municipalities completely prohibit the placing of any sign of joy and celebration on the streets of the cities, for all citizens.
Menorah with a gas balloon
"This morning we received permission from the municipality and we will place the menorah like every year in the center of the city," said one of the city's rabbis and a Chabad emissary. "This time, unlike all years, we are lighting the menorah using a small gas cylinder that will last for two to three hours."
Rabbi Levi Stembler, Rabbi of the city of Kaminskyi and the rabbi of Lubbitch, received permission from the municipality to place menorahs in the city.
"We received special permission from the municipality and the regional military defense to also place billboards to publicize the Jewish miracle," said Rabbi Stambler.
"On the signs we publish the Rebbe's message: A little light overcomes great darkness."
In one of the cities that is under continuous fighting, and during most hours of the day there is absolute darkness, the military governor decided to authorize the rabbi of the community to place the menorah.
"I will personally come to see the lighting," the governor told the rabbi, "it is of utmost importance to us to do everything and preserve the routine, the tradition and the joy of our citizens."
However, despite the exceptional approvals given in some places to place Hanukkah, public Hanukkah parties will not take place, due to the situation.
"Miracle Publications" in preparation for Hanukkah in the city of Kamanskoi in Ukraine, photo: Photo: JRNU
A message of hope
Several Chabad delegations found an interim solution: to place the menorah only in the courtyard of the synagogue and not on the streets of the cities. "We explained to the government representatives and citizens that the Rabbi of Lubbitch taught us that light repels darkness," says Rabbi Avraham Wolff, Rabbi of the city of Odessa and Chabad emissary.
"That's why placing a menorah, right now, expresses a message of light and hope."
Rabbi Wolf added: "We launched an awareness campaign that the message of the menorah, and this year even more so, is that everyone can illuminate the world by adding light, each in his own place, and this is the best way to overcome difficulties. If a person helps his neighbor heat the water, Or helps bring water to a neighbor who doesn't have it, or provides warm equipment to someone in need, etc. - he spreads light and makes the world a better place. In the meantime, let's all pray that by Hanukkah the war will end and the challenging dilemma will be spared from us."
Operation Dnipro
Next week, 300 days will be counted in Ukraine for the difficult war that is being waged there.
Because of this, the preparations for Hanukkah began already three months ago - even before the current Rosh Hashanah.
In the warehouse and the huge logistics distribution center of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Ukraine, in the city of Dnipro, they began to gather the materials.
These will be widely distributed to all the Jews of the country.
This includes 47,000 individual kits containing Hanukkah and candles, a booklet explaining the holiday, a coloring book for children, Hanukkah games for children as well as snacks and sweets for the whole family.
Packing kits for suffocation in Dnipro, photo: Federation of Ukrainian Jews
"Every year for the past five years, we have distributed 35,000 kits to 35,000 Jewish households in the country, and this year we realized that we must increase the light and reject the darkness; reach as many Jewish homes as possible and bring them the light and joy of Hanukkah. Light that will illuminate the homes and light that will illuminate the hearts ", says Chabad emissary Rabbi Meir Stambler, who serves as the chairman of the federation.
"The Hanukkah holiday is all about hope and the promise of a brighter future and this is extremely important nowadays in Ukraine, while we are fighting the darkness, literally."
According to Ksenia Levinsky from Dnieper, who received the kit: "Hanukkah is a holiday of hope. The kits we received will add light and festivity to our home, which we lack so much at the present time, especially in light of the power outages due to the attacks on energy facilities in Ukraine. The Hanukkah candles will remind us that miracles do happen. We will pray that the war It will end in a victory that symbolizes the victory of the few and weak over the many and strong."
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