Jewish communities in Ukraine are preparing for more holidays in the shadow of the war, which has been going on for more than 500 days in full force.
It is estimated that due to the curfew hours that have been reduced and come into effect in most cities only at midnight, people will be able to move freely this time and visit synagogues more than last year. This is in addition to the fact that quite a few congregations have been reinforced with new members who have become closer following the war, and therefore the synagogues on the coming holidays will be full, and in some places even more so than they were before the war.
The Federation of Jewish Communities in Ukraine (FJCU), with extensive cooperation and assistance from Chabad emissaries, has begun packing holiday preparations in all 180 Jewish communities across Ukraine.
"To piyyut 'who will live and who will die; Who is at its end and who is not at its end, who is in water and who is on fire' There will also be tangible and chilling significance on this Rosh Hashanah," said Federation Chairman Rabbi Meir Stumbler. "Like all Ukrainian Jews, I pray and hope that by Rosh Hashanah we will hear the mouthpiece of the Messiah when the redemption comes and have a year of peace and tranquility."
distribution of kits in Ukraine (archive),
Some 52,000 holiday kits will be sent to all 180 Jewish communities in the country, and from there they will be distributed by special representatives in each city to Jews in every city, town and village in their vicinity.
The list of items includes a shortened cycle for Rosh Hashanah, a shortened cycle for Yom Kippur, a recipe brochure for Tishrei, a magnet puzzle (a calendar of holidays and fasts), Shabbat candles, a table calendar, a wall calendar, a pocket calendar, 4 leaflets for the High Holidays, a large jar of honey, a festive honey cake, a bottle of grape juice, a bottle of wine and a pack of candy.
Meanwhile, despite the war, routine continues. On Sunday, an event was held to mark the 125th anniversary of the founding of the central synagogue "Brutzky". The event was attended by representatives of the local government alongside ambassadors, military officers and senior government officials, along with hundreds of members of the Jewish community headed by Rabbi Moshe Azman, Rabbi of Ukraine, who serves as the synagogue's rabbi and community leader.
Rabbi Azman alongside Ukrainian fighters,
At the end of the 19s, the Jewish industrialist and philanthropist Eliezer Brodsky decided to build himself a synagogue. In the spring of 1897, he received confirmation from the Senate of the Russian Empire. The synagogue opened on August 24, 1898, on Brodsky's 50th birthday.
The festive opening ceremony was attended by the head of the district, the mayor of Kiev and other important representatives of that time. After the October Revolution in 1926, the synagogue was closed by order of the authorities and converted into a club.
In 1992, the President of Ukraine published a law dealing with the return of religious buildings to communities to which the buildings once belonged, after efforts the Jewish community received the synagogue at its disposal.
Chabad Bauman's food warehouse, September 2022, photo: Avishag Shar-Yashuv
The Chabad Synagogue in Odessa, Photo: Avishag Shar-Yashuv
During the evening, Rabbi Azman held a memorial service for those killed in the last war and for soldiers who fell on the battlefield. The rabbi gave words of encouragement on the occasion of the High Holy Days and encouraged the spirits of the community members and prayed together with the audience to end the difficult war that is still taking place in the country today.
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