The program of philanthropist and benefactor Yosef (Yuriy) Nikitenko and the Dnipro Jewish Community for the distribution of holy Jewish books continues and is gaining momentum. After the first thousand books distributed to communities before Shavuot last year, and the second thousand, which reached communities from Odesa to Uzhhorod, the time has come for the third thousand books, which were gifted to Jewish communities across Ukraine.
This time, the books – Siddurim, Tehillim, Machzorim for Yom Kippur, and Chumashim – were received by communities in twelve cities of Ukraine: Lviv (Rabbi Mordechai Shlomo Bold) – 20 copies; Kamianets-Podilskyi – 40; Kryvyi Rih (Rabbi Liron Ederi) – 60 copies; Hadyach (Rabbi Yosef Segal) – 90; Cherkasy (Rabbi DovBer Axelrod) – 90; Ternopil – 30; Vinnytsia (Rabbi Shaul Horowitz) – 90; Kherson (Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Wolf) – 90; Ivano-Frankivsk (Rabbi Moshe Leib Kolesnik) – 120; Chernivtsi (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glitzenstein) – 120 copies. Additionally, the communities of Mykolaiv (Rabbi Sholom Gottlieb) and Zaporizhzhia (Rabbi Nochum Erentroy) received 50 Machzorim for Yom Kippur each.
The geography of the program expands with each stage, covering more and more communities throughout Ukraine. Rabbis and congregants do not hide their joy: “Thank you very much, the Siddurim are wonderful, and we study regularly from the Chumashim,” wrote a congregant of the Kryvyi Rih synagogue, Reb Levi.
Among the books distributed, the new Chumash deserves special attention. It is a complete edition of the Five Books of Moses with Haftaros in a single volume, prepared by Chabad House Publications. The book has a blue hardcover and is a bilingual edition – the text is in Hebrew with a translation that incorporates explanatory additions. Directly into the text of the Torah, italicized explanatory words are inserted to help understand the simple meaning (pshat) without needing to consult a separate commentary. The translation makes extensive use of the classic commentary of Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040–1105 CE) – one of the most authoritative sources on the pshat of the biblical text. Rashi’s commentary is presented in full in Hebrew, and its explanations are incorporated directly into the translation. The edition is supplemented with selected passages from the teachings of the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe – Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson – as starting in 1964, the Rebbe regularly devoted part of his talks to analyzing Rashi’s commentary on the weekly portion. These materials are included in the footnotes at the bottom of the pages. The edition also includes the Aramaic translation of Onkelos – the normative translation from the Talmudic era, to which Rashi frequently refers in his commentary.
Alongside the commentaries, a chronological order of the events of the Torah is indicated – this makes the text more illustrative and helps perceive the described events as historical realities. The edition contains over 60 illustrations, dozens of historical maps (the journeys of Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Yosef, the Exodus from Egypt, the territories of the tribes, etc.), genealogical tables (the ten generations from Adam to Noach, the family of Avraham, and others), as well as special tables – the Jewish calendar, signs of cantillation, the system of measurements, orthographic exceptions in the Torah, and much more.
Tables of holiday readings are provided separately – for both the diaspora and the Land of Israel – indicating the Torah portion, Maftir, and Haftarah for each holiday and special Shabbos. At the end of the book, the Haftaros are arranged according to the customs of Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Chabad Chassidic communities, with an expanded translation and a brief preface to each.
The book is read from right to left, as a Hebrew publication. The translation begins on the left page, each verse starting on a new line. Thematic headings in the margins help orient the reader within the text.
This is an expensive and substantial edition, which becomes a true treasure for both a personal library and any community. If you wish to purchase this Chumash for yourself, your family, or your community, please fill out the request form at the following link
“These books are very much needed by Jewish communities, especially the Siddurim and such wonderful Chumashim, which not only provide the text but also help to understand it correctly,” says the Chief Rabbi of Ivano-Frankivsk, Moshe Leib Kolesnik. “This is an amazing gift that will contribute to the development of Jewish life in our community, and for which we wholeheartedly thank the esteemed Yosef (Yuriy) Nikitenko and the wonderful Dnipro Jewish Community under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
