2 months ago

In Presidential Bunker: Zelensky Meets Chabad Shluchim in Ukraine

Shluchim of the Rebbe, serving as rabbis of Ukraine’s major cities, met with Ukraine’s Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his secure office in Kyiv ahead of Pesach • Read More, Photos

During the meeting, the rabbanim presented him with a package of shmurah matzah, along with a special gift—a newly completed Ukrainian translation of the Five Books of Moses.

The discussion focused on the situation of Jewish communities across the country, marking the fifth Pesach since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The meeting was organized by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine.

Since the outbreak of the war, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made it a point to meet regularly with the Shluchim in order to receive updates on the Jewish communities across Ukraine, and to express his appreciation for their dedication in remaining in the war-torn country—despite having the option to leave, as many hold Israeli or American citizenship.

As in previous years, the meeting was originally scheduled for Yud-Alef Nissan, the birthday of the Rebbe, but was postponed to Chol Hamoed due to an unplanned diplomatic trip by Zelenskyy to Jordan and several Gulf states.

Rabbi Moshe Moskowitz, Chief Rabbi of Kharkov, spoke about the Rebbe’s birthday and emphasized how the Rebbe educated his Chassidim to dedicate their lives as Shluchim without limits for every Jew in their cities. He noted that the rabbanim hope Zelenskyy will designate this day as a “Day of Education and Good Deeds,” following the longstanding tradition of U.S. presidents since the era of Jimmy Carter.

Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, Chief Rabbi of Kyiv, spoke about the message of Pesach as the Festival of Freedom, noting that both the Jewish and Ukrainian peoples share a tefillah for freedom from those who threaten them, and for peace and redemption.

Rabbi Meir Stambler, Chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, presented Zelenskyy with a package of matzah baked at the “Tiferes HaMatzos” bakery in Dnipro, which supplies Jewish communities worldwide. He also shared that, together with the Shluchim, the federation distributed Pesach packages and matzah to over 50,000 Jewish households across the country, and organized dozens of public Sedarim attended by thousands.

The Rabbanim also gifted the president a newly printed set of the Five Books of Moses translated into Ukrainian for the first time in history, along with additional Jewish books and materials produced in Ukrainian as part of a broad initiative by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine. Zelenskyy expressed great admiration for the project.

Presenting the Chumash set, the rabbanim noted that according to Torah, Hashem “looked into the Torah and created the world,” and therefore translating Torah into Ukrainian brings spiritual strength and blessing to the country during its war. They added that the project took four years of work by dozens of rabbanim and linguists and cost tens of millions of hryvnia.

Rabbi Stambler also recalled previously presenting Zelenskyy with a Ukrainian translation of Tehillim, and expressed thanks to the printing partners in Kharkov who supported the effort, recognizing its importance.

The meeting, coordinated by Rabbi Rafael Rotman, also included remarks by Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Rabbi Moshe Asman, and Rabbi Yaakov Sinyakov, who oversees outreach to Jewish soldiers serving in the Ukrainian army.

Rabbi Asman shared a powerful story from the early days of the war, when he refused to evacuate the Jewish village he established in Anatevka near Kyiv, even as Russian tanks approached, because he planned to build a yeshiva campus there. “I believe that because of this, the tanks were stopped,” he said, inviting Zelenskyy to attend the upcoming cornerstone-laying ceremony.

Rabbi Sinyakov highlighted the extensive efforts to bring matzah and Yom Tov joy to thousands of Jewish soldiers on the front lines.

Also in attendance were Shluchim and rabbanim from cities across Ukraine, including Nikolaev, Vinnitsa, Lvov, Berdichev, Poltava, Kremenchug, Kirovograd, Kharkov, and Dnipro.