By COLlive reporter
The ongoing war in Ukraine is also affecting the routine of the Jewish holidays. Ukraine Jewry experienced the day of Lag BaOmer with mixed feelings: in some cities, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai‘s holiday was celebrated in closed gatherings, while in other places, there were no celebrations at all due to the situation.
There were, however, Jewish communities that celebrated the day with the traditional Parade through the streets, despite the tense situation or maybe because of it.
In the Ukrainian nuclear city of Zaporizhzhia, neither a parade nor a gathering was held this year. “As a result of the situation, we have been forbidden to hold the annual event of Lag BaOmer,” said the city’s rabbi and Shliach Rabbi Nachum Arntroy. The community in Zaporizhzhia is one of the most established and impressive ones in Ukraine. Despite the ongoing war, the rabbi is doing everything in order to preserve the Jewish life routine.
In Odessa, there have also been quite a few shelling in recent days, but the city’s rabbi and Chabad Shliach, Rabbi Avraham Wolff, decided, in consultation with security officials, to hold the traditional Parade.
“Although there was a lot of shelling here in the last few days, we were marching proudly in the public Parade,” said Rabbi Wolf. “We, in general, celebrate Lag BaOmer in an exceptional way. We had a chain of events here, both in the educational institutions, including the Children’s Home as well as in the rest of the community institutions.”
In the capital city of Kyiv, they were not particularly impressed by the continuation of the attacks, choosing to hold the Lag BaOmer parade proudly through the city streets, as usual. “The children walked in the parade and recited Torah verses together with the crowd,” said Chabad Shliach Rabbi Mordechai Levenhartz.
“Additionally, they enjoyed the usual attractions and had a joyful experience. In addition, the fact that such a big crowd has gathered is really a miracle for us; we especially were glad to be notified that two young Jewish men expressed their desire to be circumcised.
Lag BaOmer was properly marked also in Vinnytsia, as an impressive Parade was held during the eve of Lag BaOmer, followed by a well-attended, magnificent community event, including joyful dances around a bonfire that was lit in a large barrel. “Finally, a positive fire,” summed up one of the excited participants.
“It is impossible to describe the importance of maintaining the traditional events in the communities,” say figures in the aid center of JRNU, which has been accompanying the Shlichus network in Ukraine since the collapse of the Iron Curtain.
“The ongoing state of war greatly challenges the routine life, mainly the Jewish special events, but the rabbis of the communities make great efforts to continue preserving both the community’s nature and the Jewish cycle of the year,” they summarize.
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