For the first time this year, during the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah, special events were organized at the Dnipro museum “Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine,” including a unique exhibition and the daily lighting of a Hanukkah menorah in one of the Museum’s halls.
On the first evening of Hanukkah, during the opening of the exhibition “Art and Memory on Paper,” dedicated to the traditional Jewish art of reizele (papercutting) and vibrant Ukrainian-Jewish calendars, the candles were lit by the Deputy Secretary of the Dnipro Rabbinical Court, Rabbi Avraham Yosef Yitzchak Karshenbaum.
In the following days, the ceremony was conducted in a symbolic format—not as the fulfillment of a religious commandment, but to honor tradition and spread the message of the Hanukkah miracle. This allowed a wide circle of esteemed guests, friends, and partners of the Museum to participate. The holiday’s traditions brought people together and became an important element in forming a shared identity.
The eight-day celebration of Hanukkah at the Jewish Museum concluded with a special ceremony, during which the esteemed member of the Dnipro Jewish Community, Oleh Rostovtsev, was invited to light all the candles on the chanukiah.
“For us, holding the ceremony within the Museum’s walls was an exceptionally significant event, emphasized by the unique space of its execution and the fact that our chanukiah was like part of a special exhibition dedicated to the fusion of culture, traditions, and historical memory—both Jewish and Ukrainian,” said the Museum’s Director, Dr. Iryna Radchenko. “We were a little concerned when we decided to hold such a ceremony every evening throughout the holiday, and we were very moved by the support and attention of the united and cohesive Dnipro Jewish Community under the leadership of its Chief Rabbi, Shmuel Kaminezki.”
