Passover is a festival of freedom. It commemorates the exodus of Jews from Egypt over 3000 years ago. The timeless and universal message of this holiday is that slaves can go free, and the future can be better than the present. Passover, or Pesach, as it is called in Hebrew, begins in the middle of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month on the Jewish liturgical calendar. It lasts for seven days in Israel, eight in the diaspora. On the Gregorian calendar, Passover generally corresponds with late March or early April. This year, 2015, Passover begins Friday evening April 3rd, and ends Saturday evening, April 11th. Passover is known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In preparing for Pesach, Jews clean their homes and vehicles, removing every trace of leaven (or chametz, in Hebrew). This act symbolizes the haste with which the Jews left Egypt. They did not even have time to let the bread rise. It is also a symbolic purification ritual— removing the puffiness of arrogance and pride, which separates us from one another, and our Creator. The eating of matzo, or unleavened bread, is very important to Jews during this time. The scrupulous ritual avoidance of […]

Download: UJH-2014-0803-Tisha B’Av Tisha B’Av is a fast day that commemorates the destruction of the two Temples in ancient times, as well as more recent tragedies befalling the Jewish people. It is sometimes referred to as “The Ninth of Av, since it falls on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. On the secular calendar it usually coincides with late July or mid-August. Tisha B’Av vividly recalls devastating tragedies in Jewish history, so it is known as the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. The first great tragedy occurred in 586 B.C.E. when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the First Temple built by King Solomon, the most important place in ancient Judaism. The Temple was re-built on the site of the First Temple, and completed in 516 B.C.E. This second temple was destroyed during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The destruction of the two Temples took place on the same day — the ninth of Av — about 656 years apart. These two events were so devastating that the ancient rabbis declared the anniversary of the Temples’ destruction a day of mourning. This is the origin of Tisha B’Av. Other tragedies have occurred on this […]

Babyn Yar is a ravine on the outskirts of Kyiv that has become a symbol of the Holocaust. There more than 100 thousand perished during the Nazi occupation, including 40,000 Jews. Babyn Yar was first mentioned in historical accounts in 1401, in connection with its sale by a “baba” (which means an old woman), to the Dominican Monastery. Over the course of several centuries, the site was used for various purposes including military camps and at least two cemeteries, among them an Orthodox Christian cemetery and a Jewish cemetery. The latter was officially closed in 1937. On September 19, 1941 the Nazis occupied Kyiv. Ten days later, on Yom Kippur, they began the mass murder of Jews at Babiy Yar. The city’s Jews obeyed a Nazi order to assemble there, expecting to be deported, as Nazi propaganda intended. According to German records, in just two days nearly thirty four thousand Jews were killed. The killing continued for months. The majestic ravine quickly became a mass burial site of Jews, Gypsies, Ukrainians, Russians, Hungarians, and others …civilian hostages, prisoners of war, patriots and partisans, including Ukrainian Nationalists. The Nazis spared no one … not children, the elderly, nor pregnant women. Patients […]

The Tkuma Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies in Dnipropetrovsk contains a number of materials concerning “Righteous among the Nations”. This honorary title is given to the people of different nations who rescued Jews during WWII, from 1939 to 1945. The procedure is monitored by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, a special committee established at the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority. Among the materials at Tkuma is the tremendous heroic story of Lidia Kotliarevska, who rescued Jews during the Nazi occupation of Dnipropetrovsk. Lidia Kotliarevska had been involved in an underground organization and had worked as a nurse in German hospital. She carried out her underground activity jointly with Boris Sondak, a Ukrainian Jew who she hid in her flat. Sondak was responsible for blowing up a bridge on the Dnipro River to halt the progress of the Nazis. In 1942 he and his comrades were arrested and executed. During the Dnipropetrovsk occupation she also sheltered a Jewish family, Tatiana Rabovskaya and her sons Viktor and Nikolay. The older son cared for his younger brother and Lidia’s young daughter Aleksandra. In November 2002 Yad Vashem notified Lidia Kotliarevska that she had received the honorary title of Righteous among the Nations for […]

The Tkuma Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies in Dnipropetrovsk is widely known throughout Ukraine and abroad for its work devoted to Jewish history in Ukraine, Holocaust studies, and the problems of international relations. Since its inception the Tkuma Institute has been actively involved in publishing scientific monographs and textbooks, and conducting international scientific conferences and educational seminars. As well, domestically Tkuma implements many cultural and educational projects. These include Sunday university and the Dnipro historical club. Sunday University take place every third Sunday of the month and address issues in Jewish history, the history of Ukraine and World History. In 2012 and 2013 lectures, conversations and “round tables were scheduled on a variety of topics designed to deepen understanding of the origins of xenophobia, the background of the Holocaust, and the causes of religious confrontations. The main objective of the project is to cultivate an attitude of tolerance and cross-cultural understanding. At Sunday University there are also lessons on Jewish traditions, philosophy, psychology, and other topic of a cultural and historical nature. The idea of the “Sunday University” lectures series at “Tkuma” is not new. Dr. Igor Shchupak, Director of the Institute and Museum, had conducted similar programs in different […]

The creation of the Tkuma Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies in Dnipropetrovsk dates back to 1999. At the time it was called the Tkuma Scholarly-Educational Center and it was the first national center for studying and teaching the history of Ukraine’s Jews and the Holocaust. The institute’s name is derived from a religious moshav – a communal settlement – in southern Israel. Tkuma was established as a kibbutz  in early October, 1946. The first residents were immigrants from Eastern Europe who survived the Holocaust. Its name reflects the resurrection of Israel. The Hebrew word Tkuma in fact means “resurrection.” An important achievement of Tkuma is the creation of the Museum “Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine.” The opening ceremony of the Museum was the 16th of October 2012 in Dnipropetrovsk. On this date the Tkuma Center was re-named the Tkuma Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies. The mission of the Institute is forming and strengthening the Jewish national identity, as well as improving Ukrainian-Jewish relations in Dnipropetrovsk and throughout Ukraine. Today Tkuma is widely known in Ukraine and abroad for its work devoted to Jewish history in Ukraine, the Holocaust, and the problems of international relations. Since its inception it has […]

«If you believe that you can damage, then believe that you can fix.» Those are the words of Rebbe Nachman, founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement. In his short life, Rebbe Nachman achieved much acclaim as a teacher and spiritual leader, and is considered a seminal figure in the history of Hasidism. He was born in 1772 in the village Medzhybizh, Ukraine. His great-grandfather was Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism. As a young boy Nachmzan was extremely pious, spending much of his time time praying and meditating in the nearby forest, and diligently studying Kabbalah. In accordance with the custom of his time, he was married at the age of 13, soon after his Bar Mitzvah. His wife was Sashia, daughter of a Rabbi from a nearby village. They had eight children, of whom four daughters survived, with known descendants to today. Rebbe Nachman gained an ardent following, including one of the senior leaders of the Hassidic movement. He openly addressed issues such as addiction and compulsive behaviours, and was a strong proponent of experiencing joy in the earthly realm through spirituality. Another of Rebbe Nachman’s well-known sayings is, “It is a great mitzvah to be happy.” […]