While Ukrainian residents once again move between talks of a possible peace summit next weekend and the harsh reality that includes relentless Russian bombings, the Jewish communities in the country are organizing dozens of Lag BaOmer parades across major cities, with the highlight being prayers for peace in Ukraine and prayers for peace for the people of Israel in the Holy Land.
According to the Chairman of Jewish Communities in Ukraine, Rabbi Mayer Stambler: “Thousands of children participating in all the parades will recite Psalms together and offer prayers for our brothers in the Holy Land, for the soldiers, and for the hostages in Gaza who are in distress and captivity.”
“This is the fourth year that Ukraine has held limited Lag BaOmer parades due to restrictions in light of the security situation,” he says. “In previous years, we were forced to forgo parades in city streets and make do with gatherings in synagogues and Jewish community centers, or hold parades on shorter routes, and it seems this will be the case this year as well. However, if indeed a summit meeting takes place this Thursday in Turkey between Jewish Ukrainian President Zelensky and Russian President Putin, there might be positive implications for Lag BaOmer celebrations in the country. In such a case, we hope that concerns will diminish, restrictions will be lifted, and the parades will once again become large with lots of Jewish Pride as was the case in all 30 years before the war.”
Either way, even if the summit does not materialize and the ceasefire does not occur, parades will be held in the country’s major cities. This represents a decrease in the number of parades compared to before the war began, but they will take place in 20 major cities such as Dnipro, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Kremenchuk, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Mykolaiv. A special lighting ceremony with guests arriving from Israel will be held, as per tradition, at the gravesite of the Alter Rebbe in Haditch in the eastern part of the country.
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU) distributed to Chabad emissaries in the country at the beginning of the week hats, balloons, booklets and children’s stories booklets produced especially for the occasion, as well as large banners about Jewish commandments and signs with the “Twelve Verses” that the children participating in the parades will recite based to the Rebbe’s request in honor of the holy Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
Photo: Lag BaOmer parades in Ukraine last year
