A significant and joyous event took place at the Dnipro Jewish Community—the completion of writing and donation of a new Sefer Torah to the Jewish religious community of the city of Mykolaiv. This Sefer Torah was written at the initiative and with the support of esteemed Dnipro Jewish Community member Binyamin Demchenko and his family, for the elevation of the soul of Dvora Vera, daughter of Yosef Demchenko.
The completion ceremony was attended not only by respected members of the Dnipro Jewish Community but also by rabbis from many communities across Ukraine, who had arrived in Dnipro to participate in the traditional Shabbaton for the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s shluchim, held with the support of JRNU. Among them was the Chief Rabbi of Mykolaiv, Sholom Gottlieb, who sincerely thanked the Demchenko family and the Dnipro Jewish Community. He emphasized the unbreakable connection between these two cities and their Jewish communities, noting that Mykolaiv holds a special status as the birthplace of the Leader of our generation, the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, while Dnipro is where his childhood and youth were spent. The Rebbe repeatedly emphasized his special connection to our city, calling it “his own.”
The Demchenko family was represented at the completion ceremony by Chana Demchenko, wife of esteemed Dnipro Jewish Community member Binyamin Demchenko, and his brother Myroslav Demchenko together with his wife Olena. All speakers thanked the Demchenko family and prayed to Hashem to grant all its members long life, health, and blessing.
The Sefer Torah was completed by the renowned young talented sofer Mendel Margolin. The final, most honorable letters were inscribed by Chief Rabbi of Mykolaiv Sholom Gottlieb, Myroslav Demchenko, and Chief Rabbi of Dnipro and the region Shmuel Kaminezki.
After the final letters were written and numerous le’chaims were raised for the blessing of Binyamin and Chana Demchenko and their children—Ida Esther, Malka, Alexander, and Daniel—the Sefer Torah was lifted and dressed in a special festive mantle. Then, under a wedding canopy—a Chuppah—accompanied by all present, with great joy and solemnity, it was carried through the Menorah Center gallery, through the city streets, and brought into the “Golden Rose” Central Synagogue, where traditional hakafos took place.
“I want to express my deep gratitude to the wonderful Demchenko family and personally to Reb Binyamin Demchenko, who do so much for the development and strengthening of Jewish life in Dnipro and in other communities. This help is simply invaluable, especially in such challenging times,” emphasized Chief Rabbi of Mykolaiv Sholom Gottlieb. “This Sefer Torah is received with deep gratitude and love by all members of our synagogue, all the Jews of the city of Mykolaiv. This gift once again underscores our unbreakable connection with the united and cohesive Dnipro Jewish Community under the leadership of its Chief Rabbi, Shmuel Kaminezki.”
