Rosh Hashana kibbutz (Breslov)
Encyclopedia
The Rosh Hashana kibbutz is a large prayer assemblage of Breslover
Hasidim
held on the Jewish New Year
. It specifically refers to the pilgrimage
of tens of thousands of Hasidim
to the city of Uman, Ukraine, but also refers to sizable Rosh Hashana gatherings of Breslover Hasidim in other locales around the world. In recent years the pilgrimage to Uman has attracted Jewish seekers from all levels of religious observance and affiliation, including introducing Sephardic Jews to Hasidic spirituality. This has added to Breslov's position in the Baal teshuva movement
of Jewish outreach.
during his lifetime. He strongly encouraged his followers to spend each Rosh Hashana with him in the town of Breslov
. Hundreds of followers would gather for the holiday prayer service, festive meals, and special Torah
lessons taught by the Rebbe. When asked why Rosh Hashana was so significant, Rebbe Nachman explained, "My Rosh Hashana is greater than everything. I cannot understand how it is that if my followers really believe in me, they are not all scrupulous about being with me for Rosh Hashana. No one should be missing! Rosh Hashana is my whole mission."
To one follower who said he preferred to visit the Rebbe on the Shabbat
after Rosh Hashana, when he would have more space to pray, eat and sleep, the Rebbe replied, "Whether you eat or don't eat; whether you sleep or don't sleep; whether you pray or don't pray (i.e. with the proper concentration); just make sure to be with me for Rosh Hashana, no matter what!"
Elsewhere, Rebbe Nachman explained that traveling to a tzaddik on Rosh Hashana is a time-honored practice which helps to mitigate and "sweeten" Heavenly decrees at their source, at the beginning of the new year. The Rebbe also mentioned before the last Rosh Hashana of his life (in 1810) that there were people who were unable to achieve their tikkun (self-rectification) all year, nor was he able to help them then. On Rosh Hashana, however, these tikkunim could be effected.
In 1843, on the last Rosh Hashana of his own life, Nathan of Breslov
("Reb Noson"), the Rebbe's closest disciple and leader of the movement after the Rebbe's passing, expounded on the meaning of Rebbe Nachman's Rosh Hashana in this way:
Rebbe Nachman died in October 1810 and was buried in the Uman cemetery. Afterwards, Reb Noson explained to the other Hasidim
that Rebbe Nachman had stressed the importance of the Rosh Hashana kibbutz that year because he wanted them to continue to "be with him" for the holiday even after his passing. He encouraged them to continue to gather at the Rebbe's gravesite in Uman every Rosh Hashana.
, Belarus
, Lithuania
and Poland
. So many joined the pilgrimage, in fact, that the local synagogue
was unable to accommodate them. Fearing that people would stop attending the kibbutz, Reb Noson acquired a property, applied for a government permit, raised funds and oversaw the construction of a large Breslover synagogue in Uman in 1834. Known as the kloyz, it housed the annual Rosh Hashana kibbutz through the 1930s.
Reb Noson once said, "Even if the road to Uman were paved with knives, I would crawl there — just so I could be with my Rebbe on Rosh Hashanah!"
In each generation, the most pious representatives of the movement were honored with leading the prayer services at the annual Rosh Hashana kibbutz. They included: Nachman Chazan
, Abraham Sternhartz
, Levi Yitzchok Bender, Michel Dorfman
, and Itzel Korsinski.
The annual Rosh Hashana pilgrimage effectively redirected the focus of Breslover Hasidut from the town of Breslov to the town of Uman. Today, the town of Breslov is considered a side-trip for visitors to Ukraine, as the only sites of interest to Breslover Hasidim there are the graves of Reb Noson and other Breslover figures.
and Poland
. Uman became a "closed city" and foreigners were strictly prohibited from entering. Rabbi Yitzchok Breiter
, a Breslover Hasid in Poland who drew thousands of his countrymen closer to the Hasidut in the 1920s and 1930s, established a Rosh Hashana kibbutz in Lublin
for their benefit. Hasidim who emigrated to Israel
established Rosh Hashana kibbutzim in Jerusalem and in Meron
(the latter at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai), which continue to this day. Later, other Rosh Hashana kibbutzim were established in New York
and in Manchester
, England
.
Shmuel Horowitz
, a native of Safed
, Mandate Palestine
, was the last foreign citizen to sneak across the Polish border into Russia around 1929. He participated in three Rosh Hashana kibbutzim in Uman before he was discovered and arrested for illegal entry
. After spending three months in a Soviet prison, Horowitz was released with the intervention of the Chief Rabbi
of Mandate Palestine, Abraham Isaac Kook
, and returned in 1933.
Despite the Communist ban on public prayer gatherings, Breslover Hasidim in Russia continued to gather clandestinely every Rosh Hashana during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1934, the Soviets ostensibly granted permission for 28 Hasidim to travel to Uman for Rosh Hashana. In fact, it was a ruse to discover their identities — 16 were murdered while still in Uman and 12 were exiled to Siberia. Only four of the exiles survived. In 1936, the authorities shut down the kloyz built by Reb Noson and turned it into a metalworking factory.
The Rosh Hashana kibbutz was relocated to a rented apartment in 1936 and 1937. The last kibbutz before World War II
was held in 1938. Twenty-seven Hasidim risked their lives to participate in this gathering.
World War II
and the Holocaust decimated the numbers of Breslover Hasidim living in Russia. The Rosh Hashana pilgrimage resumed on a drastically smaller scale in 1948, when 11 Hasidim independently traveled from cities throughout Russia to Uman for Rosh Hashana. From then until the 1970s, when most of the remaining Hasidim were permitted to emigrate to Israel
, only between 9 and 13 Hasidim braved the annual trip. They were often forced to change the location of their prayer services from year to year to escape discovery by the authorities.
Beginning in the 1950s, Michel Dorfman
in Moscow became the official organizer of the Rosh Hashana kibbutz. Hasidim from throughout Russia would contact him for details about each year's event, and he wrote letters to others, encouraging them to continue this practice of being with Rebbe Nachman for Rosh Hashana despite the long journey and the threat of government surveillance.
s to larger cities like Kiev
and Odessa
, not to Uman. Fleer returned to Uman in 1965 to join the Rosh Hashana kibbutz with 12 other Russian Hasidim. Fleer pretended to be from the Soviet Republic of Georgia and that he did not speak Yiddish or Russian in order to protect his identity. Had the participants known that a foreign citizen was in their midst, they would have quit the kibbutz immediately.
From the 1960s until the fall of Communism
in 1989, several hundred American
and Israeli Hasidim made their way to Uman, both legally and illegally, to pray at the grave of Rebbe Nachman. Sometimes the government issued individual tourist visas to Uman, but no one was allowed to stay in the city overnight. In 1975, however, Rabbi Herschel Wasilski, the official American representative of Breslover Hasidut, received permission to conduct a minyan
at the Rebbe's gravesite on the eve of Rosh Hashana with 11 other men and spent the holiday in the city. In 1988, glasnost
and continuing international pressure finally forced the Soviet government to permit 250 foreign citizens to stay in Uman over Rosh Hashana.
The next year, the fall of Communism opened the gates entirely. Between 700 and 900 Hasidim gathered in Uman for Rosh Hashana 1989. In 1990, 2,000 Hasidim attended. Large factory sites were called into service to house the crowd. The numbers have continued to grow apace. The Rosh Hashana kibbutz in Uman surpassed the 10,000-person mark in 2000. In 2005, approximately 20,000 men and boys from all countries and all backgrounds converged on the town for the annual event. In 2008, the numbers reached 25,000.
Though modern-day Uman houses 100,000 residents, it still resembles a 19th-century village in many respects. For example, water is not always available at all hours due to low reserves in the reservoir, and visitors are advised to bring their own bottled water, canned and dried snacks, and toilet paper, among other necessities http://www.breslov.org/roshhashana.html. Coordinators of the Rosh Hashana kibbutz fly in fully catered, kosher holiday meals for all participants, temporary lodgings, an infirmary and emergency medical technician
s from Israel
.
Despite the dormitory-style accommodations, the gathering is infused with much spiritual devotion and unity of purpose. Besides the communal prayer services, Torah classes are conducted in Yiddish
, Hebrew
, English
, Russian
, and French
. A visual highlight of the Rosh Hashana kibbutz is the Tashlikh
ceremony, held on the afternoon of the first day of the holiday (if the first day of Rosh Hashana falls on Shabbat
, Tashlikh is postponed to the second day of Rosh Hashana). Thousands of Hasidim, dressed entirely in white, sing and dance through the streets of Uman as they make their way down to the river to perform this holiday ritual.
pilgrimage has drawn protests from residents due to the large influx of visitors from Israel who arrive, and the strain on security and utility that occurs.
Common complaints from residents relate to the loud noise, rowdiness, widespread drinking, and general aggressiveness the pilgrims cause.
On September 10, 2010, several cases of violence and riots broke out amongst the Hasidic pilgrims. Conflict erupted near a local children's hospital between activists of the first Jewish Evangelical Church, who arrived from Odessa
to preach their faith. They were met with violent backlash from Hasidim pilgrims who objected.
In clashes with locals, cases of Hasidim provoking riots have occurred. In one instance, pilgrims staying in a residential tower began tossing rocks and bottles from above onto a car, and when at one point a local policeman’s hat was knocked off, police with German Shepherds were called to scatter the crowd. In another case, hundreds encircled a man outside a residential tower and began shouting to “tear him apart”. One woman from Uman who had leased her apartment to Hasidim pilgrims threatened to phone the police due to the excessive noise, when a neighbour came to aid in the situation and call the police for help, the Hasidim assaulted the man and chased him into the streets. A passer-by who came to the defense of the victim was also assaulted. Both men were hospitalized as a result of the attacks.
An Israeli police officer sent to the proceedings to monitor security commented, explaining that “people get drunk and act crazy in the streets, go out to pubs and hit on women and harass them. They do all types of things that they would never do in Israel, but they come out here and feel like they can do it.”
On September 13, 2010, ten Hasidic pilgrims were deported back to Israel and banned from Ukraine for five years for disrupting public order and causing bodily harm to citizens. Three more are also under investigation.
Breslov (Hasidic dynasty)
Breslov is a branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism...
Hasidim
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
held on the Jewish New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
. It specifically refers to the pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
of tens of thousands of Hasidim
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
to the city of Uman, Ukraine, but also refers to sizable Rosh Hashana gatherings of Breslover Hasidim in other locales around the world. In recent years the pilgrimage to Uman has attracted Jewish seekers from all levels of religious observance and affiliation, including introducing Sephardic Jews to Hasidic spirituality. This has added to Breslov's position in the Baal teshuva movement
Baal teshuva movement
The Baal Teshuva movement is description of the return of secular Jews to religious Judaism. The term "baal teshuva" is a term from the Talmud literally meaning "master of repentance". The term is used to refer to a worldwide phenomenon among the Jewish people...
of Jewish outreach.
Rosh Hashana with Rebbe Nachman
The first Rosh Hashana kibbutz was initiated by Rebbe Nachman of BreslovNachman of Breslov
Nachman of Breslov , also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover , Nachman from Uman , was the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement....
during his lifetime. He strongly encouraged his followers to spend each Rosh Hashana with him in the town of Breslov
Bratslav
Bratslav |Breslov]] as the name of a Hasidic group, which originated from this town) is a townlet in Ukraine, located in the Nemyriv Raion of Vinnytsia Oblast, by the Southern Bug river. It is a medieval European city having dramatically lost its importance during 19th-20th centuries...
. Hundreds of followers would gather for the holiday prayer service, festive meals, and special Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
lessons taught by the Rebbe. When asked why Rosh Hashana was so significant, Rebbe Nachman explained, "My Rosh Hashana is greater than everything. I cannot understand how it is that if my followers really believe in me, they are not all scrupulous about being with me for Rosh Hashana. No one should be missing! Rosh Hashana is my whole mission."
To one follower who said he preferred to visit the Rebbe on the Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
after Rosh Hashana, when he would have more space to pray, eat and sleep, the Rebbe replied, "Whether you eat or don't eat; whether you sleep or don't sleep; whether you pray or don't pray (i.e. with the proper concentration); just make sure to be with me for Rosh Hashana, no matter what!"
Elsewhere, Rebbe Nachman explained that traveling to a tzaddik on Rosh Hashana is a time-honored practice which helps to mitigate and "sweeten" Heavenly decrees at their source, at the beginning of the new year. The Rebbe also mentioned before the last Rosh Hashana of his life (in 1810) that there were people who were unable to achieve their tikkun (self-rectification) all year, nor was he able to help them then. On Rosh Hashana, however, these tikkunim could be effected.
In 1843, on the last Rosh Hashana of his own life, Nathan of Breslov
Nathan of Breslov
Nathan of Breslov , also known as Reb Noson, born Nathan Sternhartz, was the chief disciple and scribe of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, founder of the Breslov Hasidic dynasty. Reb Noson is credited with preserving, promoting and expanding the Breslov movement after the Rebbe's death...
("Reb Noson"), the Rebbe's closest disciple and leader of the movement after the Rebbe's passing, expounded on the meaning of Rebbe Nachman's Rosh Hashana in this way:
We see that on Rosh Hashana, Jews flock to the synagogue, to their leaders. They come from all the towns and villages to be together on Rosh Hashana. This is because the Jewish People are likened to a flock of sheep who gather around their shepherd. When the shepherd wishes to call his flock, he blows his horn. This is the reason for the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashana. The shepherd, the true tzaddik, is calling his "flock" together, seeking ways to help each one of them fulfill his destiny."
Rebbe Nachman died in October 1810 and was buried in the Uman cemetery. Afterwards, Reb Noson explained to the other Hasidim
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
that Rebbe Nachman had stressed the importance of the Rosh Hashana kibbutz that year because he wanted them to continue to "be with him" for the holiday even after his passing. He encouraged them to continue to gather at the Rebbe's gravesite in Uman every Rosh Hashana.
Pilgrimage established by Reb Noson
Reb Noson arranged the first Rosh Hashana kibbutz the following year (1811) and continued to run it until his passing in 1844. In the following decades, hundreds of Hasidim arrived annually from UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. So many joined the pilgrimage, in fact, that the local synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
was unable to accommodate them. Fearing that people would stop attending the kibbutz, Reb Noson acquired a property, applied for a government permit, raised funds and oversaw the construction of a large Breslover synagogue in Uman in 1834. Known as the kloyz, it housed the annual Rosh Hashana kibbutz through the 1930s.
Reb Noson once said, "Even if the road to Uman were paved with knives, I would crawl there — just so I could be with my Rebbe on Rosh Hashanah!"
In each generation, the most pious representatives of the movement were honored with leading the prayer services at the annual Rosh Hashana kibbutz. They included: Nachman Chazan
Nachman Chazan
Nachman Chazan was a seminal figure in the continuation and growth of Breslov Hasidism in the mid-nineteenth century. The Breslov movement was founded by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, who died in 1810. Rebbe Nachman's closest disciple, Nathan of Breslov , shaped and shepherded the movement until his...
, Abraham Sternhartz
Abraham Sternhartz
Abraham Sternhartz , also known as Avraham Shternhartz, was an Orthodox rabbi in Ukraine and a unique and unsurpassed figure in the chain of transmission of Breslover teachings from the early generations of the movement to the latter ones....
, Levi Yitzchok Bender, Michel Dorfman
Michel Dorfman
Yechiel Michel Dorfman was the de facto head of the Breslover Hasidim living in post-Stalinist Russia. Due to his persistence and planning, the annual Breslover Rosh Hashana kibbutz at the grave of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine, which began in 1811, continued on a small scale despite...
, and Itzel Korsinski.
The annual Rosh Hashana pilgrimage effectively redirected the focus of Breslover Hasidut from the town of Breslov to the town of Uman. Today, the town of Breslov is considered a side-trip for visitors to Ukraine, as the only sites of interest to Breslover Hasidim there are the graves of Reb Noson and other Breslover figures.
Under Communism
The Rosh Hashana pilgrimage ground to a halt with the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, which sealed the border between RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Uman became a "closed city" and foreigners were strictly prohibited from entering. Rabbi Yitzchok Breiter
Yitzchok Breiter
Yitzchok Breiter was a Breslover Hasidic rabbi who spread the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov beyond their origins in Ukraine to the country of Poland during the 1920s to 1930s.-Biography:...
, a Breslover Hasid in Poland who drew thousands of his countrymen closer to the Hasidut in the 1920s and 1930s, established a Rosh Hashana kibbutz in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
for their benefit. Hasidim who emigrated to Israel
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
established Rosh Hashana kibbutzim in Jerusalem and in Meron
Meron
A meron or half-instanton is a Euclidean space-time solution of the Yang-Mills field equations. It is a singular non-self-dual solution of topological charge 1/2. The instanton is believed to be composed of two merons....
(the latter at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai), which continue to this day. Later, other Rosh Hashana kibbutzim were established in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Shmuel Horowitz
Shmuel Horowitz
- Biography :Horowitz was born in Minsk, then in the Russian Empire , and studied in Moscow. He was a close friend of the poet Saul Tchernichovsky, with whom he shared accommodation. In 1917, his sister was murdered by an antisemitic gang in Ukraine...
, a native of Safed
Safed
Safed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...
, Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine existed while the British Mandate for Palestine, which formally began in September 1923 and terminated in May 1948, was in effect...
, was the last foreign citizen to sneak across the Polish border into Russia around 1929. He participated in three Rosh Hashana kibbutzim in Uman before he was discovered and arrested for illegal entry
Illegal entry
Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law.Migrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like...
. After spending three months in a Soviet prison, Horowitz was released with the intervention of the Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
of Mandate Palestine, Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
, and returned in 1933.
Despite the Communist ban on public prayer gatherings, Breslover Hasidim in Russia continued to gather clandestinely every Rosh Hashana during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1934, the Soviets ostensibly granted permission for 28 Hasidim to travel to Uman for Rosh Hashana. In fact, it was a ruse to discover their identities — 16 were murdered while still in Uman and 12 were exiled to Siberia. Only four of the exiles survived. In 1936, the authorities shut down the kloyz built by Reb Noson and turned it into a metalworking factory.
The Rosh Hashana kibbutz was relocated to a rented apartment in 1936 and 1937. The last kibbutz before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was held in 1938. Twenty-seven Hasidim risked their lives to participate in this gathering.
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Holocaust decimated the numbers of Breslover Hasidim living in Russia. The Rosh Hashana pilgrimage resumed on a drastically smaller scale in 1948, when 11 Hasidim independently traveled from cities throughout Russia to Uman for Rosh Hashana. From then until the 1970s, when most of the remaining Hasidim were permitted to emigrate to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, only between 9 and 13 Hasidim braved the annual trip. They were often forced to change the location of their prayer services from year to year to escape discovery by the authorities.
Beginning in the 1950s, Michel Dorfman
Michel Dorfman
Yechiel Michel Dorfman was the de facto head of the Breslover Hasidim living in post-Stalinist Russia. Due to his persistence and planning, the annual Breslover Rosh Hashana kibbutz at the grave of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine, which began in 1811, continued on a small scale despite...
in Moscow became the official organizer of the Rosh Hashana kibbutz. Hasidim from throughout Russia would contact him for details about each year's event, and he wrote letters to others, encouraging them to continue this practice of being with Rebbe Nachman for Rosh Hashana despite the long journey and the threat of government surveillance.
International focus
In the 1960s, when the majority of Hasidim in the Breslover movement resided outside the Soviet Union, Rebbe Nachman's gravesite began to turn from being an internal Russian destination to an international one. A young New York Hasid named Gedaliah Fleer was the first foreign citizen to enter Uman without permission in 1963, with Dorfman's help. The Soviets would only issue tourist visaVisa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
s to larger cities like Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, not to Uman. Fleer returned to Uman in 1965 to join the Rosh Hashana kibbutz with 12 other Russian Hasidim. Fleer pretended to be from the Soviet Republic of Georgia and that he did not speak Yiddish or Russian in order to protect his identity. Had the participants known that a foreign citizen was in their midst, they would have quit the kibbutz immediately.
From the 1960s until the fall of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in 1989, several hundred American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Israeli Hasidim made their way to Uman, both legally and illegally, to pray at the grave of Rebbe Nachman. Sometimes the government issued individual tourist visas to Uman, but no one was allowed to stay in the city overnight. In 1975, however, Rabbi Herschel Wasilski, the official American representative of Breslover Hasidut, received permission to conduct a minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
at the Rebbe's gravesite on the eve of Rosh Hashana with 11 other men and spent the holiday in the city. In 1988, glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
and continuing international pressure finally forced the Soviet government to permit 250 foreign citizens to stay in Uman over Rosh Hashana.
The next year, the fall of Communism opened the gates entirely. Between 700 and 900 Hasidim gathered in Uman for Rosh Hashana 1989. In 1990, 2,000 Hasidim attended. Large factory sites were called into service to house the crowd. The numbers have continued to grow apace. The Rosh Hashana kibbutz in Uman surpassed the 10,000-person mark in 2000. In 2005, approximately 20,000 men and boys from all countries and all backgrounds converged on the town for the annual event. In 2008, the numbers reached 25,000.
Though modern-day Uman houses 100,000 residents, it still resembles a 19th-century village in many respects. For example, water is not always available at all hours due to low reserves in the reservoir, and visitors are advised to bring their own bottled water, canned and dried snacks, and toilet paper, among other necessities http://www.breslov.org/roshhashana.html. Coordinators of the Rosh Hashana kibbutz fly in fully catered, kosher holiday meals for all participants, temporary lodgings, an infirmary and emergency medical technician
Emergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
s from Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Despite the dormitory-style accommodations, the gathering is infused with much spiritual devotion and unity of purpose. Besides the communal prayer services, Torah classes are conducted in Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
, Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. A visual highlight of the Rosh Hashana kibbutz is the Tashlikh
Tashlikh
Tashlikh is a long-standing Jewish practice usually performed on the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, however it can be said up until Hoshana Rabbah...
ceremony, held on the afternoon of the first day of the holiday (if the first day of Rosh Hashana falls on Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, Tashlikh is postponed to the second day of Rosh Hashana). Thousands of Hasidim, dressed entirely in white, sing and dance through the streets of Uman as they make their way down to the river to perform this holiday ritual.
Riots and Conflict with residents
Recently, the UmanUman
Uman is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. The city rests on the banks of the Umanka River at around , and serves as the self-governing administrative center of the Umanskyi Raion ....
pilgrimage has drawn protests from residents due to the large influx of visitors from Israel who arrive, and the strain on security and utility that occurs.
Common complaints from residents relate to the loud noise, rowdiness, widespread drinking, and general aggressiveness the pilgrims cause.
On September 10, 2010, several cases of violence and riots broke out amongst the Hasidic pilgrims. Conflict erupted near a local children's hospital between activists of the first Jewish Evangelical Church, who arrived from Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
to preach their faith. They were met with violent backlash from Hasidim pilgrims who objected.
In clashes with locals, cases of Hasidim provoking riots have occurred. In one instance, pilgrims staying in a residential tower began tossing rocks and bottles from above onto a car, and when at one point a local policeman’s hat was knocked off, police with German Shepherds were called to scatter the crowd. In another case, hundreds encircled a man outside a residential tower and began shouting to “tear him apart”. One woman from Uman who had leased her apartment to Hasidim pilgrims threatened to phone the police due to the excessive noise, when a neighbour came to aid in the situation and call the police for help, the Hasidim assaulted the man and chased him into the streets. A passer-by who came to the defense of the victim was also assaulted. Both men were hospitalized as a result of the attacks.
An Israeli police officer sent to the proceedings to monitor security commented, explaining that “people get drunk and act crazy in the streets, go out to pubs and hit on women and harass them. They do all types of things that they would never do in Israel, but they come out here and feel like they can do it.”
On September 13, 2010, ten Hasidic pilgrims were deported back to Israel and banned from Ukraine for five years for disrupting public order and causing bodily harm to citizens. Three more are also under investigation.
See also
- Breslov (Hasidic dynasty)Breslov (Hasidic dynasty)Breslov is a branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism...
- Nachman of BreslovNachman of BreslovNachman of Breslov , also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover , Nachman from Uman , was the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement....
- Nathan of BreslovNathan of BreslovNathan of Breslov , also known as Reb Noson, born Nathan Sternhartz, was the chief disciple and scribe of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, founder of the Breslov Hasidic dynasty. Reb Noson is credited with preserving, promoting and expanding the Breslov movement after the Rebbe's death...
- Michel DorfmanMichel DorfmanYechiel Michel Dorfman was the de facto head of the Breslover Hasidim living in post-Stalinist Russia. Due to his persistence and planning, the annual Breslover Rosh Hashana kibbutz at the grave of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine, which began in 1811, continued on a small scale despite...
External links
- Rosh Hashana in Uman—a description of the Rosh Hashana kibbutz in Uman, then and now.
- Journey to Uman A personal chronicle of an American Breslover's pilgrimage in 1997.
- "Out of Gehenna", a sympathetic account of the Breslover Hasidim at Uman by a non-Breslov observer