6 months ago

Kfar Chabad: Festive Welcome for Bachur Released from Military Prison

An emotional scene unfolded on Thursday in Kfar Chabad, as a student of the Chabad Yeshiva in Moscow was warmly welcomed following his release from military prison, where he had been held for nearly a month for continuing his Torah studies. Fellow Chabad yeshiva students organized a celebratory reception that included a festive motorcade, singing, and dancing throughout the village • Read More, Photos, Watch

A powerful and unusual scene took place on Thursday in Kfar Chabad, as a student of the Chabad Yeshiva in Moscow, who had been arrested by the military police for continuing to study Torah, was released after nearly a month in military prison.

Chabad yeshiva students organized a festive reception in his honor, complete with a celebratory motorcade, singing, and dancing through the streets of the village.

The student was welcomed by the Rav of Kfar Chabad, Rabbi Meir Ashkenazi, along with Rabbi Yitzchak Axelrod, Rosh Yeshiva of the Bukharian Chabad Yeshiva, who offered words of blessing and encouragement. Rabbi Yitzchak Kogan, known as the “Tzaddik of Leningrad” and a veteran Chabad chassid in Russia, sent a special message, telling the young Bachur that every challenge serves to elevate a person—drawing a parallel to Yosef HaTzaddik, who rose to greatness after imprisonment.

The release coincided with Hey Teves, celebrated in Chabad as Didan Notzach, marking the historic victory affirming the Rebbe’s leadership and the return of the Seforim. This year, the joy of the day was amplified by an additional “Didan Notzach”: the release of a Chabad yeshiva student who had been incarcerated for his commitment to Torah learning.

Community members noted that unlike other cases, the military authorities had imposed particularly harsh detention conditions. Only after sustained intervention by Chabad Rabbanim—led by Chief Rabbi of Russia Rabbi Berel Lazar and organizations assisting with draft-related matters was the situation eased, ultimately leading to the student’s release.

Veteran residents remarked that scenes like this were once associated exclusively with neighborhoods in Bnei Brak or Yerushalayim, and that few could have imagined such an event taking place in Kfar Chabad. The episode has further reinforced a growing sentiment within the IDF that the imprisonment of yeshiva students is ineffective and ultimately causes more harm than benefit.