UMAN, Sept 29 – Some 10,000 Hasidic Jews from more than 20 countries gathered Friday in central Ukrainian town of Uman to celebrate the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashana, at the tomb of their spiritual leader.
More and more members of the Bratslaver Hasidic sect have been arriving each year to mark the holiday by praying at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, the group’s founder. Last year, some 7,500 of Nachman’s followers came to Ukraine.
Nachman, who died in 1810, was renowned for his mystical interpretations of Jewish texts. On his deathbed, he is said to have promised to help anyone who would come to visit him.
Before 1917, Uman was home to a large and active Jewish community. But the officially atheist Soviet regime sharply restricted religion and pilgrims could only come in secret.
Since Ukraine’s independence in 1991, Jews have been able to visit freely. Now, Nachman’s tomb – part of a destroyed Jewish cemetery – has been renovated. The Hasidim are building a 4,000-seat synagogue with ritual baths, which would be the largest in Ukraine.
The religious visitors have had a noticeable impact on Uman, an impoverished town 125 miles south of the capital Kiev. There is a kosher supermarket so Jewish dietary laws can be observed, and a new hotel respects the Hasidim’s requirements – the rooms have no mirrors and bathtubs are replaced with showers.
With celebration growing larger from year to year, the city residents also mark it as a major annual event, making extra money by selling souvenirs and other goods.
