More than a thousand sacred Jewish books — copies of Chumash, Tehillim, and Siddurim — were distributed to Jewish communities across Ukraine as part of the second large-scale campaign led by philanthropist Yuriy Nikitenko in partnership with the Jewish Community of Dnipro.
We previously reported in detail on the first campaign timed to the holiday of Shavuot here. This time, the sacred books were delivered to communities in several other cities across the country.
The city of Odesa received the largest number of books, with three local synagogues included in the distribution. Forty copies of each edition were delivered to the city’s central synagogue under the leadership of Chief Rabbi of Southern Ukraine, Avraham Wolff. Twenty copies were sent to the synagogue in the Fontan district, led by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Wolff, and another twenty to the synagogue in the Peresyp area (commonly known as “Poselok Kotovskogo”), headed by Rabbi Fishel Chechelnitsky.
Other Ukrainian cities also received significant allocations. The Jewish community of Chernihiv, led by Rabbi Yisroel Silberstein, received fifty copies of each book, while the Kyiv-based “Kedem” community, led by Rabbi Pinchas Vyshedski, was given fifty Siddurim and Tehillim, along with thirty copies of the Chumash. Forty copies of each title were sent to the communities of Kropyvnytskyi (Rabbi Dan Zakuta), Rivne (Rabbi Shneur Schneerson), Kamianske (Rabbi Levi Stambler), and Zaporizhzhia (Rabbi Nochum Ehrentreu). Thirty books were sent to the community of Sumy (Rabbi Yekhiel Levitan), and ten to the community in Uzhhorod (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Wilhelm).
Some communities received partial sets. Poltava (Rabbi Yosef Segal) received twenty Chumashim and thirty Siddurim. In the Dnipro region, under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, eighty Chumashim were delivered to the city of Dnipro, with an additional five Chumashim and five Siddurim sent to the town of Samar.
A special gift was also presented to the girls of the summer camp “EKA,” who received ten Siddurim.
“These sacred Jewish books are deeply needed in every Jewish community, and the demand for them is great,” said Rabbi Reuven Kaminezki. “This outstanding initiative of our community and Mr. Yuriy Nikitenko — to whom we extend our heartfelt gratitude and who is blessed throughout Ukraine — has become a significant milestone in the revival of Jewish life in our country.”
