In anticipation of the Shavuot holiday in conflict-ridden Ukraine, specially-stocked refrigerated trucks are making their rounds to Jewish communities throughout the nation. The vehicles are loaded with pallets of dairy products like ice-cream and cheeses—a highlight of the holiday—while also delivering meat, poultry and other essential items to Jewish communities in need.
Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries are supervising the distribution in towns and cities across Ukraine, supported by the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine, Chabad’s front-line aid network in the country. The products included in the shipments have been sourced from local manufacturers under the supervision of the Kosher Committee in Ukraine headed by Rabbi Pinchas Vishetski, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Donetsk.
Along with the deliveries, Chabad is initiating a nationwide campaign to bring children and their families to synagogues on the holiday. “The campaign employs various mediums, including posters, brochures and video,” said Rabbi Shlomo Peles of the JRNU. “Our aim is to inspire as many Jews as possible to participate in synagogue services on the holiday and to hear the Ten Commandments following the directive of the Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory], including the youngest children.”
The delivery trucks will be making stops in numerous cities, including Zhytomyr, Lviv, Uzhgorod, Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Berdytsov, Cherkasy, Karponitskyi, Kremenchuk, Poltava, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernigov, Uman, Odessa, Kherson, Nikolaev, Fromeysk, Kaminsky, Dnieper and Zaporozhye.
One of the cities to receive the shipments is Krivoy Rog, the hometown of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Rabbi Liron Edri, the city’s rabbi, paints a bleak picture of the city’s economic state, devastated by the ongoing war. He describes Krivoy Rog as one of the most industrialized cities in Europe, a major producer of steel globally, but “since the local port was blocked due to the continued attacks, the city’s ability to market its products has been crippled.”
He adds that “more than a third of the city’s population is jobless. These aid campaigns are genuinely beneficial to the city’s Jewish community, providing much-needed relief and enabling them to maintain a life of dignity.”
Donations to help the Jews of Ukraine can be made at the JRNU web site here.
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