10/4: Rosh HaShannah in Uman, Ukraine

Radio Svoboda: Photos from Uman

The rise of Uman is one of the greatest stories to emerge from sovereign Ukraine.

In 1991, the Jewish community slowly emerged in independent Ukraine crippled from the combined atrocities of the Nazi Holocaust and Russian Soviet Communism.

Sovereign Ukraine established a strong tradition of freedom of religion for Jews as well as Muslims, Evangelicals, Baptists and all religions.

Uman had been a pilgrimage site for Rosh HaShannah since the 1810’s. The Soviets banned Jews from celebrating New Years there for 5 decades.

Starting in 1991, dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of Jews came to Uman to pray and dance at the grave of Reb Nachman.

In fact, Uman became the largest Jewish pilgrimage site outside of Israel, attracting 30,000+ visitors. Uman is but one example of the strong tradition of freedom of religion that Ukraine has built since 1991.

At a time, when the Russian army is torturing Christians in Eastern Ukraine and persecuting Muslims in Crimea, it worth highlighting the efforts the Ukrainian government have made to ensure thousands of Jews are able to travel to Ukraine to celebrate Rosh HaShannah.

To quote Reb Nachman: כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלוֹ גֶשֶׁר צַר מְּאֹד וְהָעִיקָר לֹא לְפַחֵד כְּלַל

The whole world is a narrow bridge, but the main thing to recall is to have no fear at all.