God over war: Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews are making a pilgrimage to Ukraine – EL PAS USA
Posted By admin on September 6, 2022
Shalev Levi fears heaven more than he fears Earth. He is a Haredi one of the God-fearing, as strictly Orthodox Jews are called in Hebrew and he has just checked in at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion airport, en route to Moldova, to then cross by road to Uman, in central Ukraine. There he will join more than a thousand ultra-Orthodox Jews who are already in the city to fulfill the annual tradition, started two centuries ago, of celebrating the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement. The celebration is not for another three weeks, but Levi fears that repeated calls by the Israeli and Ukrainian governments to forgo this years pilgrimage could turn into an outright ban at some point.
Asked if he is not afraid of going to a country at war, Levi points out that there is also a war going on in Israel, and that in any case the authority that he listens to is his rabbi, not the Israeli government. The 50 charter flights from Tel Aviv to Chisinau (the capital of Moldova) until the celebration, which begins on September 25, are already fully booked, according to Israels Keshet 12 TV channel. It is too soon to speculate about how many will finally make the pilgrimage, although no estimate exceeds 15,000. Other years the number is usually close to 30,000, most from Israel and, to a lesser extent, from the United States.
Levi whose white embroidered yarmulke and wide smile reveal him to be part of the Breslov Hasidic movement founded in the 18th century by the rabbi who is buried in Uman, and to which most of those who make the pilgrimage belong explains that more than the war, what is keeping many from going this year is the trip: an almost three-hour flight, followed by another three hours by bus to the border and then three more to Uman. Im flying now because I cant risk them closing [the border], he explains. And the longer I wait, the more money it would cost me, and I cant afford it. There are only seats left on flights to Romania [which also shares a border with Ukraine]. My wife is staying behind to take care of our five kids.
Nachman, who considered it a commandment to always be happy (some of his followers are known for dancing a kind of religious techno-pop in the streets), asked that none of his disciples miss the meetings he organized on the occasion of the Jewish New Year. He died in 1810 without having appointed a successor, and the following year the new leader of the movement organized the first gathering before the tomb. The tradition endured (even clandestinely during Stalinism) and after the 1991 disintegration of the Soviet Union which Ukraine was part of the pilgrimage became a mass phenomenon that is also attended by a minority of devotees from other currents, spiritual seekers and even opportunists, some of whom commit criminal acts, explains Benjamin Brown, professor of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Frictions between pilgrims and locals, even fistfights, are common.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid called on his fellow citizens not to travel to Uman in light of the danger to life posed by entering the combat zone, according to a statement reporting a telephone conversation he held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. That same day, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a new travel alert (it had already issued one in February) mentioning how missiles had been fired at the Uman area just a few days earlier, killing one person and wounding several more. It also urged its citizens to leave the country immediately and stressed that Israel lacks a permanent diplomatic presence in Ukraine.
In early July, Ukraines ambassador to Tel Aviv, Yevgen Korniichuk, noted on Facebook that Kyiv does not allow entry to tourists and visitors, nor can it guarantee the safety of pilgrims. He added: Imagine that there is a crowd of 50,000 or even more praying in Uman and [Russia] decides to fire missiles. Can you guarantee that it will not happen, after they have bombed shopping malls, kindergartens and schools? Korniichuk even granted interviews on the subject to the strictly Orthodox press, as this group, which represents about 13% of Israels population, ignores the general media.
Daniel Cohen claims to be unaware of the travel alert. As he prepares to check in four huge bags full of disposable plates and cutlery for a group of 120 pilgrims at Tel Aviv airport, he states that he does not have time to keep up with the news; he has more important things in his mind.
His discourse revolves around two ideas. First, while Israel is a very small country, Ukraine is so big that a war that is being waged mainly in the south and east is not even being felt in Uman. The second, more spiritual, is that this is not an act that can be explained in words; it is a feeling. To him, it is not a question of courage, but of faith.
Both among the pilgrims at the airport and at the entrance of the religious school of the Breslov community in the historic Orthodox heart of Jerusalem, the Mea Shearim neighborhood, the general feeling is one of weariness, after three consecutive years of obstacles set by earthly authorities whom they distrust. In September 2020, in the midst of a resurgence of Covid-19, Ukraine closed the border and some 2,000 pilgrims slept for days at the Belarusian border, in tents or in the open, until they lost all hope of crossing. Others tried to sneak in from Poland, Hungary or Romania. Only the 2,000 who had traveled well in advance were able to celebrate the Jewish New Year in Uman.
The following year the pilgrimage was allowed, but the return to Israel was marked by the suspicion of the health authorities that close to 200 people held false negative PCR certificates and by the images of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews a group that refuses to be vaccinated without facemasks.
When Russia invaded Ukraine last February, only a few dozen Jews stayed in Uman, and the synagogue was used as a bomb shelter. According to the Israeli press, dozens of Ukrainians descended to the mikveh, the underground ritual bath, every time the air raid sirens sounded.
See the rest here:
God over war: Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews are making a pilgrimage to Ukraine - EL PAS USA
- The News in Hebrew (17.9.23) - SBS - September 18th, 2023
- Hebrew Institute of Riverdale collects 100 pints of blood in one day - The Riverdale Press - September 18th, 2023
- About Hebrew | Yale University Library - September 14th, 2023
- COLUMN: Hebrew School of the Arts off to a good start - Yoursun.com - September 14th, 2023
- New Year, Future Food from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem ... - ISRAEL21c - September 14th, 2023
- Crafty young ladies at the Chabad of Venice Hebrew School of the Arts - Yoursun.com - September 14th, 2023
- Renovation forces Hebrew Academy girls to start year at Wiley Middle School - Cleveland Jewish News - September 14th, 2023
- Lincolnwood receptive to Hebrew Theological College plan. - Chicago Tribune - September 1st, 2023
- From the Newsletter | Kohenet's Final Ordination of Hebrew ... - Moment Magazine - September 1st, 2023
- Hebrew University professor: Calling Israel apartheid is 'describing ... - Press TV - September 1st, 2023
- The Art of Repentance: A Journey into the Hebrew Month of Elul - The Jewish News of Northern California - August 26th, 2023
- A Guide to Hebrew - 10 facts, key phrases and the alphabet - August 3rd, 2023
- Hebrew Wikipedia - Wikipedia - August 3rd, 2023
- An armed man tried walking into a Jewish school in Memphis and opened fire outside when he couldnt get in, police say - CNN - August 3rd, 2023
- Kylie Jenner gave her son a Hebrew name. But its gibberish - Forward - August 3rd, 2023
- What we know and don't know about the Margolin Hebrew ... - Daily Memphian - August 3rd, 2023
- Sweden: Woman burns sheet of paper instead of Hebrew Bible in ... - Arutz Sheva - August 3rd, 2023
- And You Shall Bless | Hebrew College Wendy Linden - Patheos - August 3rd, 2023
- Biblical Hebrew - Wikipedia - July 18th, 2023
- The Hebrew Word of the Week is coming your way! - Chabad.org - July 18th, 2023
- The Paradoxical Politics of the Hebrew Bible Mosaic - Mosaic - July 18th, 2023
- SFJFF: 'Rabbi on the Block' follows struggle of first female Hebrew ... - The Jewish News of Northern California - July 18th, 2023
- Korean, Hebrew and Tamil: Why the global history of our Dravidian past is unexplored - The Indian Express - July 18th, 2023
- New Book Utilizes Ancient Hebrew and Current Scientific Evidence ... - goskagit.com - July 18th, 2023
- 50 Torah Quotes From the Hebrew Bible - Everyday Power - July 18th, 2023
- The News in Hebrew (16.7.23) - SBS - July 18th, 2023
- Hebrew Keyboard - - Type Hebrew Online - BRANAH.COM - July 14th, 2023
- New program aims at fostering the art of Hebrew translation - The Jerusalem Post - July 14th, 2023
- Hebrew language - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - July 9th, 2023
- The Price of Peace | Hebrew College Wendy Linden - Patheos - July 5th, 2023
- Sign Up to Get the Hebrew Word of the Week - Chabad.org - July 3rd, 2023
- The story of Robert Burg and his WWII Hebrew Bible - St. Louis Jewish Light - July 3rd, 2023
- Hebrew-Style Thank You to the Church that did VBS - Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman - July 3rd, 2023
- Einstein archives get new home at Hebrew University - The Times of Israel - June 19th, 2023
- Turkey recovers 1100-year-old Hebrew Bible in smuggling raids - Al-Monitor - June 19th, 2023
- Clearmind Medicine and SciSparc Partner with Hebrew University of ... - Best Stocks - June 19th, 2023
- Just as the Siesta Disappears, Hebrew Finally Has Its Own Word For ... - Mosaic - June 12th, 2023
- Hebrew U Archaeologists Discover Ancient Tiny Flutes that Imitate ... - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - June 12th, 2023
- Of Comings, Goings, and Jewish Goodbyes | Hebrew College ... - Patheos - June 12th, 2023
- Singing in Hebrew from Rossi to Tedesco - The Boston Musical Intelligencer - June 10th, 2023
- How Hebrew shapes Jewish thinking - JNS.org - June 10th, 2023
- Hebrew school students celebrate year with awards and gymnastics - The Chronicle - June 10th, 2023
- See the Brandeis Hebrew Academy at the Israel parade - liherald.com - June 10th, 2023
- How an Attempt to Convey the Hebrew Bible's Beauty Spoke to ... - Mosaic - June 10th, 2023
- Hebrew Commenary to the Gospel: Three Names of One God ... - Exaudi - June 10th, 2023
- A Guide to Hebrew - 10 facts about the Hebrew language - May 9th, 2023
- Book of Hebrews Overview - Insight for Living Ministries - April 30th, 2023
- Hebrew alphabet - Wikipedia - March 27th, 2023
- 1,100-year-old nearly complete Hebrew biblical manuscript will soon go up for auction - WTVC - March 24th, 2023
- Freie Universitt and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem collab on Joint Winter School on Digital Humanities emerges success - India Education Diary - March 16th, 2023
- Hebrew Bible | Definition, Books, & History | Britannica - February 27th, 2023
- "Not everything is of coincidence": Pfizer meaning in Hebrew goes viral in wake of Grammys sponsorship - Sportskeeda - February 13th, 2023
- Hebrew alphabet | writing system | Britannica - February 4th, 2023
- How to Learn Hebrew | My Jewish Learning - January 23rd, 2023
- Yahweh | YHWH, Adonai, Elohim, Meaning, & Facts | Britannica - January 23rd, 2023
- Washington Hebrew Congregation to Pay Nearly $1M in Lawsuit Over Child Care Safety Laws - NBC4 Washington - December 31st, 2022
- Have you paid attention to the Hebrew word President Nelson keeps teaching about? - LDS Living - October 1st, 2022
- Debates about migration have never been simple just look at the Hebrew Bible - Religion News Service - October 1st, 2022
- It's Jewish New Year: but what is Rosh Hashanah? - Euronews - October 1st, 2022
- Islam And Judaism Can Bring Peace To The Middle East OpEd - Eurasia Review - October 1st, 2022
- Opinion: The antisemitism was real in 1950s Milwaukee I was there and I remember - The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle - October 1st, 2022
- Assemblies of God (USA) Official Web Site | Jesus Made Me Kosher Conversations - AG News - October 1st, 2022
- When is Yom Kippur 2022? What is the Jewish holiday? What to know - USA TODAY - October 1st, 2022
- Chabad of Northeast Portland celebrates High Holy Days and a new home - Here is Oregon - October 1st, 2022
- You are never alone - Bonner County Daily Bee - October 1st, 2022
- The Power of With | Hebrew College Wendy Linden - Patheos - October 1st, 2022
- Modern Hebrew - Wikipedia - September 25th, 2022
- Rosh Hashanah 2022: When is it, traditions, greetings and how to wish someone happy new year in Hebrew - Manchester Evening News - September 25th, 2022
- Joseph Smith and Hebrew: How he learned it - Deseret News - September 25th, 2022
- Venices Hebrew School is growing year by year | Religion - YourSun.com - September 25th, 2022
- Jewish communities in Minnesota and around the world set to welcome new year 5783 - CBS News - September 25th, 2022
- This vintage video of a Jewish boys choir has gone viral on TikTok and its a joy to watch - Forward - September 25th, 2022
- Church-Community Connection: We need to talk about Bruno - Peoria Times - September 25th, 2022
- Israels Jewish population passes 7 million on eve of Rosh Hashanah - The Times of Israel - September 25th, 2022
- The Fruit Traditions Behind Rosh Hashanah - Mashed - September 25th, 2022
- Clearmind Applies for Patent to Treat Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome - GlobeNewswire - September 25th, 2022
- Taking Hold of the Shofar: Dreams of Past & Future - Patheos - September 25th, 2022
- Palestinian Organizations, Islamist Figures, And Hamas Warn Of 'Unprecedented Incursion' By Jews Into Al-Aqsa Mosque During Upcoming Holidays, Urge... - September 25th, 2022
- Debates about migration have never been simple just look at the Hebrew Bible - Times Union - September 16th, 2022
- Joan & Alan Bernikow JCC will partner with Hebrew Public Charter School of S.I. to provide after-school progr - SILive.com - September 16th, 2022
Comments