More than 1,000 Chabad Hasidim from Israel, the United States, and Europe arrived this week in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on chartered flights to visit the grave of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The visit coincided with the 20th of Av on the Jewish calendar.
Kazakhstan’s police provided tight security for the event, reflecting the country’s Muslim-majority population. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, a prominent Torah scholar, passed away in 1944 in Kazakhstan after being exiled there by the Soviet authorities for teaching Torah in the USSR.
Attendance at his 81st yahrzeit has grown in recent years. “This visit is important for several reasons. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was a great scholar who sacrificed his life for the Jewish people, suffering in exile far from his community in Dnipro, Ukraine,” said Shmulik Ofner, a Chabad follower from Lod attending the pilgrimage for the fifth consecutive year. “It is also an act of honoring his son, the Rebbe, who deeply valued those who supported his father. The effort to come here is a direct blessing from Rabbi Levi Yitzchak to our Rebbe.”
Ofner added that miraculous stories continue to emerge among visitors. Last year, he met a couple who had struggled with infertility for six years. This past May, nine months later, they welcomed their first child. “The Rebbe also rarely blesses those who contribute to the elevation of his father’s soul,” Ofner said.
Welcoming the visitors are the Chief Rabbi of Kazakhstan, Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen, the Rebbe’s official emissary to the country, and other local emissaries. Volunteers and local staff assist with logistics for visiting the grave and with ongoing Torah classes and prayers held continuously at the central synagogue.
Rabbi Cohen said, “It is a great privilege to host guests from across the globe. We strive to provide for them spiritually and materially, preparing for the influx of pilgrims over many months. The number of attendees grows every year, and it is truly moving. We hope that one day, together with Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, we will merit to ascend to Jerusalem, the holy city, in resurrection.”