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. […]
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Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: Propaganda—Holocaust vs Holodomor
Propaganda. A loaded term that, today, has become so clichéd that its original definition is lost in a sea of moral equivalence. Once, propaganda was merely a word describing … the dissemination of ideas, information or rumour … for the purpose of helping or injuring … an institution, a cause, or a person. Today, unfortunately, […]
Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: Sheptytsky from A to Z
Today we will play a game with the alphabet. “A” is for aristocrat, someone who is privileged but also someone who can be considered the best of its kind. “A” is also for ascetic, someone who practices profound self-discipline and abstains from the worldly pleasures of life. “A” is also for Andrei, as in Andrei […]
Reflecting on Remembrance Day
From the Nash Holos audio vault, dating back to November, 2006. Fr. Bruce Power recalls a conversation with a war vet on Remembrance Day some years ago, and shares its powerful, and timeless, message.
Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: Film Review— Saved by Sheptytsky
“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 […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: The Sea is Only Knee Deep
The Sea is Only Knee Deep is the true story of Paulina Zelitsky’s defection to Canada from the Soviet Union with her two young children in 1971. These two volumes explore many topics including: Stalin’s final years, Fidel Castro’s Cuba, and the dangers defecting. Paulina’s story begins in Cuba in 1968. She is part […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Limmud FSU in Lviv 2014 & 2015
From November 6-9, 2014, Limmud FSU hosted more than 600 Jews from around Ukraine and the former Soviet Union, taking over the Hotel Dniester in Lviv’s old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. They were there to attend presentations on Jewish art, music, culture and history hosted by Limmud FSU. They were also there to […]
Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: Night songs from a neighboring village
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 […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Stories of Khmelnytsky
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, […]
Continue readingRosh Hashana in Ukraine—updated
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 […]
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