DNEPRODZERZHINSK, Ukraine – A convention of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries in Ukraine took place in Dneprodzerzhinsk from January 4-6. The convention included workshops, round-table discussions and lectures, and was dedicated to the laws of Shabbat and in-depth study of various topics in Chassidic philosophy. A keynote speaker was Rabbi Sholem Dov Ber Levine, who traveled from New York for the occasion. Rabbi Levine is the chief librarian of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s library, the largest collection of Jewish books in the world. Rabbi Levine is a recognized expert in Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law.
The three-day convention brought together 17 rabbis from the country’s major Jewish centers. The rabbis are all the Chief Rabbis of their respective cities, including Rabbi Dov Axelrod of Cherkassy, Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm of Zhitomir, Rabbi Avraham Wolf of Odessa, Rabbi Benjamin Wolf of Sevastopol, Rabbi Pinchas Vyshedsky of Donetsk, Rabbi Sholom Gottlieb of Nikolaev, Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky of Dnepropetrovsk, Rabbi Levi Stambler of Dneprodzerzhinsk, Rabbi Liron Edery of Krivoy Rog, as well as the Chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, Meir Stambler.
“One of the main tasks of the rabbi is to study, interpret and teach Jewish law,” explained the convention’s coordinator, Rabbi Edery. “Lifelong learning is a centuries-old Jewish tradition. That is why we decided to hold a convention whose main objective was to broaden and deepen participants’ knowledge and allow them to share ideas with each other.”
The workshops consisted of two parts. The first featured lectures by Rabbi Levine on the Laws of Shabbat. The second part involved a series of lectures dealing with some of the more complicated philosophical concepts of Chasidism.
The convention was made possible thanks to the support and hospitality of Rabbi Levi Stambler. It took place in the Beit Reuven Synagogue, named in honor of Rabbi Reuven Kaminetsky, the father of the Chief Rabbi of Dnepropetrovsk Shmuel Kaminetsky, and the Beit Baruch Cultural Center, named in honor of Boris Mikhailovich Bogolyubov, the father of Gennady Borisovich Bogolyubov, the president of the Dnepropetrovsk Jewish community.
You Can Help
