The Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine has announced the publication of the first-ever complete edition of the Torah in the Ukrainian language. This edition features parallel text in Hebrew and Ukrainian, as well as Haftarot—the selections from the Books of the Prophets read on Shabbat and holidays following the weekly Torah portion.
According to the FJCU press service, this publication is the result of the prolonged, meticulous work of an entire team of translators, linguists, and rabbis. The project was led by publisher Mykhailo Shifrin with the support of Mark (Menachem Mendel) Vinarsky. It was jointly coordinated by Rabbi Levi Engelsman and Varvara Korobkova, who reported that the work lasted approximately two years. The historic mission of creating the Ukrainian translation of the Torah was undertaken by Olena Rabynovych and Anna Chvykova. The editorial team included Anat Brusylovski, Igor Zalatarov, Menachem Mendel Maryanovsky, and Akiva Nemoy, under the guidance of Rabbi Michael Gotzel. The chief editor of this edition was Oleksandr Kahanovsky. The initial print run was three thousand copies, printed in Kharkiv by PET LLC with the ISBN: 978-966-925-438-2.
In the foreword to this edition, written by the Chairman of the Board of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, Rabbi Meir Tzvi Stambler, it is stated: “The Ukrainian translation of the Torah that you hold in your hands is an exceptional achievement without parallel in the history of the Jewish people. For the first time, the holy text of the Torah resonates in Ukrainian, inviting a deep contemplation of its wisdom in one’s native language. Until now, such a translation did not exist, and this step marks a new era in the spiritual life of Ukrainian Jews. This first-of-its-kind Torah edition is significant not only for a specific community but for the entire world. It deepens the spiritual connection between the Jewish people and the Almighty, allowing everyone for whom Ukrainian is their native language to read the Torah and be filled with its eternal wisdom. Translating the Torah into Ukrainian is not merely a linguistic work; it is the dissemination of the holiness of the Almighty in this world.”
The first copies of the complete Ukrainian Torah have already begun to reach Jewish communities across Ukraine. However, it is already evident that additional print runs will be needed in the near future, and these three thousand copies printed in 2025 will become a bibliographic rarity of great historical value.
