The ongoing war in Ukraine is also taking its toll on the joyous routine of Jewish holidays.
Lag BaOmer passed with mixed feelings for Ukrainian Jews: in some cities, the Rashbi's revelry day was celebrated in closed gatherings, and in others, no celebrations were held at all due to the situation. On the other hand, there were also communities that continued the tradition of the procession through the streets of a city, despite the situation, or perhaps precisely because of it.
In the Ukrainian nuclear city of Zaporozhye, neither a procession nor a gathering was held this year. "Due to the situation, we were forbidden," said the city's rabbi and Chabad emissary, Rabbi Nachum Arantroy. The community in Zaporozhye is one of the most established and impressive Jewish communities in Ukraine, and despite the ongoing war, the rabbi is doing everything he can to preserve the Jewish routine.
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In the city of Odessa, there have been quite a few shellings in recent days, but the city's rabbi and Chabad emissary, Rabbi Avraham Wolf, decided, in consultation with security officials, to hold the traditional procession.
""Despite everything, we marched - and there have been a lot of shelling here in recent days," he says. "For us, Lag BaOmer is a complete celebration. We had a chain of community events here, both in educational institutions, in the community, and at the children's home.".
In the capital city of Kiev, they were not particularly impressed by the continued attacks - and chose to hold the Lag BaOmer procession on the streets of the city. "The children marched in the procession and recited Torah verses together," said Rabbi Mordechai Lebenharetz, Chabad emissary and rabbi of the city of Kiev. "Of course, they enjoyed the attractions and were happy without stopping. The fact that a respectable audience came - it is truly a miracle for us. Following the events, two young Jews expressed their desire to have a circumcision ceremony.".
In the city of Vinnitsa, they held both an event on the eve of Lag B'Omer and an impressive procession. At the event on the night of Lag, community members gathered and danced around a bonfire that was lit in a large barrel. "Finally, a positive fire," said one of the city's Jews.
""It is impossible to describe the importance of preserving traditional events in Jewish communities," says the Chabad emergency hotline in the country, JRNU, which has been accompanying the mission system in Ukraine since the collapse of the Iron Curtain. "The ongoing war situation is very challenging to the routine, and even more so to the events, but the rabbis of the communities are making a great effort to continue to preserve both the communities and the Jewish cycle of the year.".
