As part of their visit to Dnipro, and at the invitation of Chief Rabbi of Dnipro and the region, Shmuel Kaminezki, a high-ranking Israeli delegation led by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Kalman Meir Bar, together with his wife Dafna Bar, and Minister of Religious Affairs Michael Moshe Malchieli, became acquainted with the life of the city’s Jewish community, visiting several key Jewish institutions of Dnipro.
The Chief Rabbi of Israel and the Minister of Religious Affairs, accompanied by Rabbi Pinchas Altgoiz and several aides, as well as representatives of the Dnipro Jewish Community – Community Director Zelig Brez, Rabbi Moshe Leib Weber, Deputy Secretary of the Beith Din Rabbi Itzhak Karshenbaum, esteemed community members Vyacheslav Kheifets and Eduard Chudnovsky, and a great friend of the Jewish community Viktor Zavorotny, along with Mrs. Dafna Bar accompanied by the director of the “Chaya Mushka” school, Racheli Milman – visited leading Jewish educational institutions: the Jewish Lyceum No. 144 named after Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, as well as boys’ educational institutions, including the Yeshiva Ktana named after Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, and the “Chaya Mushka” school for girls. The guests emphasized that what they saw made a deep impression on them, as such a high level of educational institutions testifies to the great prospects for the revival of Jewish life in Ukraine.
Next, the Israeli guests, along with their accompanying party, visited the Beit Baruch Home for the Elderly, spoke with its residents, and held a joint meeting in the winter garden. The atmosphere at Beit Baruch left an unforgettable impression on them. As part of their introduction to the community’s priority social projects, the guests also toured the rehabilitation center and a branch of the JMC clinic, after which they familiarized themselves with the work of the central JMC department in the Menorah Center.
A tour of the Menorah Center, including a visit to the “Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine” Museum, an introduction to the complex’s concept, and the opportunities it provides for the Jews of Dnipro, was a key moment in the visit for Israel’s Chief Rabbi Kalman Meir Bar and Minister of Religious Affairs Michael Moshe Malkieli to learn about Jewish life in Dnipro.
The wife of Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Mrs. Daphna Bar, visited the women’s mikvah, and on Shabbat, she met with activists of the community’s women’s movement. This meeting was an important and inspiring experience for every participant. For the men, an exciting tour of historical Jewish sites in our city was organized on Shabbat, led by Rabbi Itzhak Karshenbaum. The guests also viewed the large-scale construction of the Beit Moshiach complex and visited the “Good Future” rehabilitation center for Jews in need of social adaptation, located in the historic Alter Shul synagogue. There, they spoke with people whom the community has helped return to a full and active life.
“The guests were impressed by everything they saw,” shared Rabbi Moishe Leib Weber. “They had heard much about the successes achieved by the Dnipro Jewish Community under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, but seeing it all with their own eyes was very important to them. They spent the entire Shabbat in the atmosphere of our large Jewish family, and for us, this was also very meaningful and left an unforgettable impression.”
The culmination of the Israeli delegation’s visit was their participation in the Melave Malka meal and the ceremonial beginning of the writing of a new Torah scroll. However, we will cover how this took place in a separate report.
