Wednesday, September 28, 2022
War didn't stop Hasidic pilgrims from gathering in Ukraine for the Jewish new year
And this year, despite warnings from their home governments and Ukraine that the country is under invasion and could be dangerous, the festival went on. The crowd was about half the size as other years but still was around 23,000, according to organizers.
Ukrainian street signs are covered up so they can be displayed in Hebrew. Men flood the streets in white robes or long black coats. An array of different head coverings float above the crowds, from modern knit yarmulkes to traditional fur shtreimel hats. The few women who attend the pilgrimage stay separate from the men and declined to be interviewed.
The centerpiece is the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, a Jewish mystic who preached his vision of a joy-filled life across Ukrainian lands in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Followers of the Breslov tradition say that the pilgrimage has gone on since 1811, despite several wars and regime changes.
Pilgrims this year arrived in Ukraine overland because the country's airports have been closed since February.
"I met somebody on the plane to Krakow, so we all shared a car and came together," says Moishe Tisch, who's made the pilgrimage from New York to Uman 10 times. "You don't know if there's going to be food or if you're going to have a place to sleep."
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