From Rabbi Naomi Steinberg - The War in Ukraine
The horrifying Russian war on Ukraine will touch the lives of everyone on earth. The planet is not so large that the effects of a conflict like this can be contained. For the worldwide Jewish community there are multiple layers of sorrow, outrage and fear. Before Shabbat I want to share a few thoughts and links with you.
Russian bombing near Babi Yar: In September 1942 Nazi occupiers rounded up the Jewish population of Kyiv and massacred 34,000 people in two days, killing them and burying them in a natural ravine outside the city. This atrocity was followed by the killing of tens of thousands of more victims of varied ethnicities and nationalities including Russians, Ukranians and Romani people. I first learned about Babi Yar many years ago reading Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s famous 1961 poem in Russian. In English it begins, “No monument stands over Babi Yar.”
President Zelensky’s message to world Jewry: We are all in awe of the bravery and determination of President Zelensky.
Understanding Russian anti-Semitism and Holocaust distortions:
Tzedakah for Ukraine:
HIAS - Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
For some Shabbat inspiration:
Cantor Azi Schwartz singing an Adon Olam by the Ukrainian Cantor Pinchas Minkowsky: A Prayer from the Synagogue in Odessa, Ukraine
On Jewish Spiritual Perspectives on KMUD last week I spoke about Jewish history in Ukraine and played beautiful Ukrainian music: https://archive.kmudfm.org/ - scroll down to Sunday, Feb. 27 - my show starts after 2 minutes
Hasidic masters of Ukraine: This evening I’ll share tales and teachings of some of the great Jewish mystics of Ukraine, including the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev, Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl and others.
Meeting ID: 252 807 8642
B’shalom ~ In peace,
Rabbi Naomi