Rabbis from Ukraine’s major cities met Monday with Ukraine’s Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelensky, at his secure office in Kyiv as we celebrate the holiday of Pesach.
They presented him with a package of shmurah matzah as well as a special gift—a newly completed full Ukrainian translation of the Five Books of the Torah. The rabbis discussed with him the situation of Jewish communities across the country, marking the fifth Passover under the shadow of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The meeting was held at the initiative of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU).
Since the outbreak of the war, Zelensky has made a point of meeting with Chabad emissaries serving as city rabbis throughout Ukraine, receiving updates on Jewish communal life and expressing his appreciation for their decision to remain in the war-torn country despite having the option to leave, as many of them hold Israeli or American citizenship.
As in previous years, the meeting was originally scheduled for the 11th of Nissan—the birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, born in Mykolaiv, Ukraine—but was postponed to the intermediate days of Passover due to an unplanned diplomatic trip Zelensky made to Jordan and three Gulf states.
Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz of Kharkiv spoke about the Rebbe’s birthday and emphasized how he taught his students to dedicate their lives, without time limitation, to serving every Jew in the cities to which they were sent. He noted that the rabbis plan for Zelensky to designate this day as a “Day of Education and Good Deeds,” following the example set annually by U.S. presidents since the era of Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s. “We hope our next meeting will take place after the victory of Ukraine and Israel—a victory of light over darkness,” he said.
Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch of Kyiv spoke about the meaning of the Festival of Freedom, saying that both the Jewish and Ukrainian peoples share a common prayer—for freedom from the burden of the “axis of evil” threatening them and the world, for peace, and for redemption.
The chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, Rabbi Mayer Stambler, presented Zelensky with matzah baked at the “Tiferet HaMatzot” bakery in Dnipro, which supplies many Jewish communities worldwide.
He told the president that the Federation, together with Chabad emissaries, distributed sets of matzah and special Passover kits to more than 50,000 Jewish households across Ukraine, and organized dozens of large public Seders attended by many thousands.
The rabbis also gifted Zelensky a newly printed set of the Five Books of the Torah, published for the first time in history in the Ukrainian language. They showed him additional Jewish books and materials printed in Ukrainian as part of a broad initiative by the Federation, and Zelensky expressed his admiration.
Presenting the Chumash set, the rabbis noted that Jewish tradition teaches that God looked into the Torah and created the world from it. Therefore, translating the Torah into Ukrainian is a “heavenly” achievement that will bring strength and encouragement to the country in its struggle against Russian aggression. They added that the project involved dozens of rabbis and linguists over four years and cost tens of millions of hryvnias.
Rabbi Stambler reminded Zelensky that he had previously given him a Ukrainian translation of the Book of Psalms, and asked to thank Mr. Shifrin and Mr. Vilensky—directors of a printing house in Kharkiv and members of Rabbi Moskovitz’s community—for their contribution. “We are very proud of your firm stand against evil and are glad to be part of this fight. You are an example not only for Ukraine but for the entire world, showing how one must stand strong for justice and integrity,” he said.
The meeting was moderated by the president’s close associate and vice chairman of the Federation, Rabbi Rafael Rutman. Remarks were also delivered by Rabbi Moshe Azman, one of Ukraine’s leading rabbis, and Rabbi Yaakov Sinyakov, who oversees Federation activities among Jewish soldiers serving in the Ukrainian army.
Rabbi Azman recounted an incident from the early days of the war in the Jewish village he established in Anatevka near Kyiv. He insisted on not evacuating despite Russian tank convoys approaching, as he planned to build a yeshiva campus there. “I believe that because of this, the tanks were stopped,” he said, inviting Zelensky to a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the yeshiva complex in about a month.
Rabbi Sinyakov emphasized the extensive efforts to provide matzah and bring Passover joy to thousands of Jewish soldiers on the front lines.
Also in attendance were Rabbi Sholom Ber Gutlib of Mykolaiv; Rabbi Shaul Horowitz of Vinnytsia; Rabbi Shlomo Bleich of Lviv; Rabbi Mordechai Levnehertz of Kyiv; Rabbi Sholom Gopin of Kyiv; Rabbi Moshe Taler of Berdychiv; Rabbi Yosef Segal of Poltava; Rabbi Shlomo Solomon of Kremenchuk; Rabbi Dan Zakhuta of Kirovohrad; Chabad emissary in Lviv Rabbi Mendy Gutlib; Chabad emissary in Kharkiv Rabbi Sholom Moskovitz; Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glitzenstein, Chief Rabbi of Chernivtsi, and Chabad emissary in Dnipro Rabbi Levi Karlshtein.
