On the yahrzeit of the eminent rabbi, Kabbalist, and spiritual leader of Soviet Jewry, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson—father of the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson—an event of great historical and symbolic significance took place in Kyiv. At the Lukyanivska detention center, where he was held 86 years ago following his arrest by Soviet authorities, a memorial plaque was solemnly unveiled to commemorate his memory.
The initiators of the project were the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Chief Rabbi of the Penitentiary Service of Ukraine, Rabbi Yonatan Markovich, and his son, Rabbi Ariel Markovich. Over many months, they worked with the facility’s administration to obtain permission to install a permanent memorial marker at the very site where Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was imprisoned.
The ceremony was attended by the administration of the Lukyanivska detention center and representatives of Jewish communities. The commander of the detention center, speaking at the unveiling of the memorial plaque, expressed regret over the injustice committed against Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, emphasizing that he had been imprisoned solely for being a Jewish rabbi and spiritual leader. In his words, this tragic page of history must be preserved in the memory of future generations.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rabbi Yonatan Markovich noted the deep symbolism of the event: it was on the very day of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s yahrzeit that his memory was commemorated at the site where the Soviet authorities had tried to silence the voice of Torah. He called the unveiling of the memorial plaque a historic restoration of justice and an important act of preserving the memory of the courage and selflessness of the great tzaddik.
For the Jewish Community of Dnipro, this event holds special significance. It was in Yekaterinoslav that Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson served as the city’s chief rabbi for many years, providing spiritual leadership to the community during one of the most difficult periods of its history. Today, the memory of his fortitude, selflessness, and faithfulness to the Jewish people continues to inspire new generations, and the unveiling of the memorial plaque at the site of his imprisonment has become yet another important testament of respect for his great legacy.
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