A synagogue to be restored in Vinnytsia region for Hasidim pilgrimage
In Chechelnyk, Vinnytsya region, the works on improvement of the synagogue were launched. On the eve, it was visited by Igor Saletsky, the head of the administration for nationalities and religions under the regional administration and rabbi Shaul Horovets, head of the Jewish religious community "Bass Menachem Lyubavich Vinnytsia.”
“In 1939, 1,627 Jews lived in Chechelnyk, which is 66 per cent of the population. In the town there was a great synagogue and 4 private sprayer houses, in which the Hasidim or the unions of artisans prayed; each such prayer house has its own “spiritual authority”. In Soviet times there was a furniture magazine, which worked until Ukrainian independence. Now the premises need professional repairs, especially on the back side,” Olesya Pyanishchuk from Chechelnytska Regional State Administration told to Vinnytsia info.
The premises of the synagogue are restored.
“They already began to clean the territory. They also started arranging the Jewish cemetery, which is in our village. The pilgrims already come here. As one can see, these burials are shrines for the Jews. People from the USA, Israel have already been there, as well as the people from other EU countries,” continued Olesya.
Historically, it is known that a great role in the development of the Jewish community was due to the fact that the Chechelnyk in the middle of the 19th century was a fairly basic center of Hasidism.
“Here one of the most well-known Hasidic Tzadiks (man of virtue, spiritual leader) Moshe Zvi Hitterman from Saurani had his residence. Several generations of the descendants of Rabbi Moshe Zvi were rabbis in Chechelnyk, and the Savrani Hasidic dynasty existed today, and its spiritual center is spreading in Jerusalem.
After the war, the social life in the city was restored, but the Jews eventually moved to Israel, USA and other countries. In 1950, Rabi Borukh, the last rabbi of Chechelnyk died, who was the grandson to Moshe Zvi from Savrani,” Olesya said.
