Passover is the Jewish festival of freedom, but for the country's roughly 250,000 Jews, both those who left and those who did not make it out in time, this holiday will be far from festive and will have very little to do with freedom.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
In the Jewish community of Dnipro, a city known as Ukraine's Jewish capital, they are working around the clock to provide dozens of communities with the basic goods necessary for Passover.
"We purchased 50,000 elegant and handmade matzah kits, a majority of which were baked here in Dnipro prior to the war, alongside grape juice, food, and kosher meat, and we added first-aid packages to the kits," Chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine Rabbi Meir Stambler explained. "We're sending the products with bus drivers who are taking refugees and bringing them to our integration centers in Dnipro before they are delivered outside the country's borders. Here in Dnipro, we will hold a few public Seders together with the city's Rabbis Shmuel Kaminetsky. My wife and children are in Israel, and obviously, there would need to be a miracle for us to celebrate together. I don't want to think about another reality, in which on this Diaspora holiday, we will still be at the height of this terrible war."
Public Seders will also be held in cities on the frontlines of the fighting, like Kharkiv. Rebbetzin Miriam Moskowitz, a Chabad emissary in the city who is now in Israel, said: "At our synagogue, there are still 100 refugees whose homes were destroyed, and they are taking shelter in the building. My husband will return to the city on the night of the Seder to celebrate with the community despite the difficult situation there."
Chabad emissary and Kyiv Rabbi Jonathan Markowitz will organize three public Seders at three different locations around the capital. Dozens of people are expected to take part in each Seder, and due to the curfew in place, are expected to remain in the buildings where the Seders will be held for the night. Rabbi Mendel Gottlieb, a Chabad emissary in Lviv, has rented a nice restaurant in the city he plans to kosher so that he can host the holiday meal there.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine has warned of a serious shortage of food products and paramedical items. "The aid we are sending is important and saves lives in places where they have no food or basic supplies, like Polydine and artificial respiration devices. We would be happy to receive any assistance to transfer to the Jews here," he said.
The Chabad in Odessa has invested great efforts in Passover preparations to show Jewish residents of the city it was business as usual in the city despite the ongoing war.
In the coming days, 2,000 food packages containing meat, chicken, oil, wine, and grape juice for community members will be distributed ahead of the holiday. In addition, recipients will receive a Passover bowl with all the items necessary for the holiday blessings, as well as candles, matches, a tablecloth, and a goblet. The Odessa Chabad has also arranged for hotel rooms for 250 people interested in keeping the entire 9 days of the holiday there. The Chabad is also organizing a Passover Seder for 300 women and orphans in the German capital of Berlin.
Additionally, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has provided 12,000 matzahs to members of the community, at a kilogram (2.2 lbs.) of matzah per family.
"All of our current efforts are to allow all of Israel to properly celebrate the holiday so that they can mark the holiday from a place of joy and satiety, and with God's help, we will have great success," Rebbetzin Chaya Wolf, who along with her husband, Chabad emissary and the Rabbi of Odessa and southern Ukraine Abraham Wolf, opened the Family orphanage in the city 21 years ago, told Israel Hayom.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
