Hanukkah is a joyous holiday, celebrated every year by Jews around the world with the lighting of candles or wicks in olive oil on a candelabra called a “menorah”, or “hanukkiya* in modern Hebrew. Traditional Hanukkah treats include potato latkes, called plyatsky or deruny in Ukrainian, and sufganiyot, doughnuts with jam, called pampushky in Ukrainian. There is also a tradition to give Hannukah gelt—coins, and more recently gifts— to children. And there is a special Hanukkah dreidel game. A dreidel is a top, or dzyga in Ukrainian. Hanukkah is actually a relatively minor Jewish holiday. There are no religious restrictions on work … other than a few minutes after lighting the candles. In North America, however, as a symbol of Jewish identity, Hanukkah has assumed a place equal to Passover … largely due to its proximity on the calendar to Christmas. As a result, in this part of the world, Hanukkah has integrated several Christmas-related customs … in particular, extensive gift-giving and Hanukkah parties. The lit menorah is displayed in windows or at the doors of Jewish houses during the festival, alongside neighbouring Christmas lights. In Ukraine during Soviet times, Judaism could not be practiced freely … so there was […]

“No harm will come to you here. You are safe. “ Lilly Pohlman says she will remember these words till the end of her days. Along with the memory of a giant of a man gently reassuring her after experiencing the horror of Nazi brutality. Over 150 other Jews who survived the Holocaust in Ukraine have similar memories. Three of them share their personal recollections of that gentle giant, Met. Archbishop Andrey Count Sheptytsky, in a documentary film called Saved by Sheptytsky. Released in 2012, the film was produced by the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, based in Toronto, Canada. Metropolitan Sheptytsky was born in 1865 to an aristocratic family in Prylbychi, a Ukrainian village near Lviv, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 1891 he left behind his privileged life to become a Ukrainian Catholic cleric. He was made bishop in 1900, and shortly afterwards became Metropolitan, the top hierarch of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. Metropolitan Sheptytsky is known, for very good reason, as the saviour of Jews during World War II. Defying extreme danger, he used the administrative structure of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church to cheat the Nazis. Over 240 Ukrainian priests and nuns risked their lives hiding Jewish children. Metropolitan […]

Welcome to Ukrainian Jewish Heritage on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio. I’m Peter Bejger. Consider the following:  Night songs from a neighboring village  Come drifting at times to my balcony  They quench my sorrow, caress my melancholy  Flow like liquid honey Today we would like to honor the remarkable long-term music project that is called Night Songs from a Neighboring Village. Night Songs is a concert program that combines two musical traditions—the Ukrainian and Eastern European Jewish. These traditions have co-existed and interacted for centuries. And the traditions mirror the complex relationship between the two peoples that have nurtured them. Night Songs is the brainchild of the Americans Julian Kytasty and Michael Alpert. They are both the sons of immigrants from the shared ancestral land of Ukraine. Julian Kytasty offers the deep heritage of Ukrainian folk and religious song. He is renowned as a master of the Ukrainian lute-harp, or bandura. Michael Alpert offers vocals, violin, guitar, and accordion. He draws upon klezmer music, Yiddish folk song, and the music of the Hasidic world. All three of these Jewish musical genres flourished in Ukraine. And all three of these great art forms of the Yiddish world nourished each other. And […]

A fascinating new book just published by Stanford University Press tackles the controversial legacy of a man in the shadows of history—Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a leader of the Ukrainian Cossacks in the 17th century. Stories of Khmelnytsky, sponsored in part by the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, features provocative essays by distinguished scholars from throughout North America, Europe, and Israel. Edited and introduced by Amelia Glaser, associate professor of Russian and comparative literature at the University of California, San Diego, the book’s twelve engaging chapters explore the highly contested memory of the man. In brief, Khmelnytsky led a successful revolt against Polish rule in 1648, a bloody revolt that included the destruction of Jewish communities. The revolt was a major trauma in the collective memory of the Jewish people. A trauma recounted in centuries of highly evocative Jewish writings. The revolt established Ukrainian independence and the Cossacks as key players in the geopolitics of the day. And for this Khmelnytsky was hailed as a national hero. However, for many Ukrainians Khmelnytsky’s legacy is tarnished by his subsequent treaty with Moscow, which ultimately condemned Ukraine to centuries of Russian rule. The book carefully addresses, without attempting to resolve, the fundamental questions Khmelnytsky’s image provokes. […]

The name for the Jewish New Year is Rosh Hashana, which in Hebrew means the “head of the year.” It is one of the most important religious holidays for Jews … a day of awe and fear, but also a day of celebration. Rosh Hashana remembers the creation of the world. It’s a time for continuous introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and making plans to do better in the new year… to do Teshuvah – returning to the paths of the Almighty. Rosh Hashana is also called the Feast of the Trumpets, as the central observance of the holiday is the sounding of the the shofar, a ram’s horn. This sound is to awaken souls from their “slumbers” and alert them to the coming judgment. It is a reminder to dedicate one’s life to serving the Almighty and to follow His commandments. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance. As the anniversary of man’s first sin, Rosh Hashanah is the first day of the “Ten Days of Repentance” which end with Yom Kippur. At this time of year, the common greeting is “Shanah Tovah,” which means “May you enjoy a good […]