On the holiday of Purim, the first large-scale event of the renewed Beit Chabad project for Israelis living and studying in Dnipro was held, in which more than 70 people participated.
This project received a new name – “Beit Yoel”. “The essence of the project remained the same – it is Beit Chabad, that is, a warm home, primarily for Israelis studying in Dnipro universities,” says the head of the project, Rabbi Yakov Dorfman, “we decided that in its updated form it will have the name “Beit Yoel”, honoring the memory of our dear friend, an Israeli student who studied in Dnipro, who did a lot to bring people closer to the Torah and Yiddish, and who tragically died last year. By the way, he was the grandson of the famous philanthropist and patron of many Jewish revival projects, Levi Leviev.”
As Rabbi Yakov Dorfman said, on the holiday of Purim, the event took place in the premises of this Beit Chabad on the fourth floor of the administrative building of the Golden Rose central synagogue complex for almost the entire day – all those present listened to the reading of the Suva Megilat Esther, which was conducted by the mashpia of Beit Yoel, Rabbi Levi Karelenstein, and after that there was a large festive meal, which, after a short break for evening prayer and Kabbalat Shabbat, continued in the Shabbat format.
“Now every Israeli student, and there are currently 12 of them studying in Dnipro, attends Shabbats in various families, and we will gather everyone for large Shabbat events twice a month, or maybe every week, it will depend on the possibilities,” continues Rabbi Yakov Dorfman, “even today every Israeli can simply come to our space to chat, attend Torah classes and lessons, just relax and have a good time in a real Jewish atmosphere. We are very happy that Israeli students are returning to our city, there are currently 12 of them, but we expect that almost twenty more people will arrive in the near future, and we want them to feel as comfortable as possible in our community and have the opportunity to satisfy all their Jewish needs. “Beit Yoel” also helps Israelis integrate into modern Ukrainian life, so in the celebration of Purim, it was in this Beit Chabad that students from the Moscow Institute of Hebrew Studies “Beit Hana” and numerous representatives of the Jewish community who are fluent in Hebrew took part.
The restored Beit Chabad is already actively working, creating an information space and constantly maintaining contact with each Israeli student.
“When Israeli students began returning to Dnipro, Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki offered me to lead this project, and I am very grateful to him for that,” says Rabbi Dorfman. “This project was initiated and is supported by the Jewish community and personally by Rabbi Kaminezki, but much also depends on the help of our friends and sponsors. For the opportunity to celebrate Purim in such a wonderful way, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Rabbis Reuven Kaminezki and Meir Stambler, as well as to Mr. Shmuel Shulitsa, David Filkinshtein, Michael Pinkus, David Krapivsky, Alexander Urikh, and Leonid Bogomolny. A special thanks goes to the coordinator of our Beit Chabad programs, Moti Nachshon.”
