On one of the days of Chol HaMoed Sukkos, in the large festive sukkah located on the terrace of the world’s largest Jewish center, “Menorah,” a grand celebration took place for the activists and members of the Jewish Community of Dnipro. A wonderful kosher meal with a variety of delicious dishes was organized here, an excellent bar with various drinks was set up, and families with children and people of different generations gathered together to share the joy of Sukkos as one great Jewish family.
On another terrace of the Menorah Center, a special space was arranged where this joy could manifest in all its fullness. Two types of popcorn and two types of cotton candy were prepared for the children, festive music played, and lively Chassidic dances drew in more and more participants, creating an atmosphere of truly boundless joy.
The hosts of the celebration were the Director of the Jewish Community of Dnipro, Zelig Brez, and Rabbi David Vaskovsky. They not only led the program but also actively spread the joy and merriment of Sukkos themselves, inviting the honored guests to display their most diverse talents. Some performed songs, some amazed those present with acrobatic feats, and some stepped into the center of the festive space to captivate everyone with a lively Chassidic dance.
The special feature of this celebration lay precisely in its spontaneity: there was no division into performers and spectators, and everyone could become a participant in what was happening. The honored guests expressed themselves openly and freely, adults and children rejoiced, danced, and supported one another together, and this sincere joy brought enormous pleasure to all those present.
Thus, the celebration of Chol HaMoed Sukkos at the Menorah Center combined the festive meal and the fulfillment of the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah with music, dancing, fellowship, and that special joy with which Jewish tradition fills the holiday of Sukkos. Families and people of different generations were able to spend this evening together, feeling themselves part of one great Jewish family.
“This celebration turned out wonderful, vibrant, and inspiring, and gave each of us an enormous charge of positive spiritual energy,” noted the Director of the Jewish Community of Dnipro, Zelig Brez. “Such celebrations are very important for our community, for they emphasize our unity and our readiness to carry the light, to change the world around us, to bring joy into it, and to strengthen faith in the coming Redemption. And the fact that such events take place at such a high level once again testifies to the strength and spiritual might of our beloved united and cohesive Jewish Community of Dnipro under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
