Hasidim Make Rosh Hashanah Pilgrimage to Ukraine

We at JDC know well that Rosh Hashanah traditions can take on their own unique flair from one country to another. A recent article in Slate shares that for the 35,000 Hasidim (ultra Orthodox Jews) that embarked on the annual pilgrimage to Uman, Ukraine (125 miles south of Kiev where the Breslov Hasidic sect’s founder, Rabbi Nachman, is buried), it was an inclusive and nearly 200-year-old “pray, eat, love” fest.

As an organization that works to revitalize Jewish culture across the former Soviet Union and around the world, it’s heartening for us to see a long-standing tradition in Ukraine take root once again.