Footage received Sunday from the city of Hadiach in Ukraine illustrates the extent of the destruction caused by the large fire that broke out over the weekend in the compound adjacent to the grave of Rabbi Shneur Zalman, the founder of the Chabad Hasidic movement and author of the Tanya.
The city’s rabbi and the person responsible for the compound on behalf of the Hasidic movement, Rabbi Shneur Zalman Deitsch, said it was only due to a miracle that no one was hurt. According to him, a large group of guests from Kyiv was staying at the site when the fire broke out, spending Shabbat in the compound as many groups from Ukraine do throughout the year when they come there for seminars.
The damage to the synagogue that burned down near the grave of the founder of Chabad
He said the guests managed, despite putting themselves in personal danger, to rescue the four Torah scrolls from the synagogue moments before the building went up in flames.
“We are receiving hundreds of phone calls of support and encouragement from all over the world,” Deitsch said. “In the coming days, we will launch an emergency fundraising campaign for the rehabilitation of the terrible ruins and the construction of a new compound. It will take time, require a great deal of work and enormous expenses, but with God’s help — ‘the glory of this latter house shall be greater’ (quote from the prophet Haggai) — the second house will be greater than the first. The compound that was destroyed was large and magnificent and suited to hosting many hundreds of guests at the same time. The one we will now restore and build, with God’s help and with the assistance of the Chabad community, will be even greater.”
Massive damage to the site
On Saturday night, Deitsch said that the community is in "total shock. The entire central building of the gravesite, into which we invested our heart, soul and our entire lives, has been consumed by fire. The damage is simply incomprehensible, and it is very painful. But Hasidim are not deterred by anything, and certainly as the Rebbe’s emissary and the person responsible for this holy compound, I cannot give up. With God’s help, we will find the strength, rebuild everything anew — it will take as much time and money as necessary — and turn it into something even larger and more beautiful. Thank God there were no bodily injuries.”
Rabbi Meir Stambler, chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, who was among the prominent figures who helped over the years in establishing the compound, said his organization is ready to help. “We, at the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, FJCU, are waiting for the final findings of the investigation and are in contact with the authorities. At the same time, we are preparing to provide replacement holy books and ritual items, and we are confident that the Jewish public in Ukraine and around the world will help repair the great damage," Stambler said. "I thank the fire services, the mayor of Hadiach and the regional governor, who acted with dedication, closely followed the incident and assisted in extinguishing the fire and beginning the restoration of the site.”
Front door of the synagogue
The gravesite compound in Hadiach is considered the second-largest Jewish prayer site in Ukraine. Until the outbreak of the war in the country, tens of thousands visited it each year. Even today, under the shadow of the war, about 10,000 people visit annually. About a third of them arrive during the hilula - traditional Jewish celebration marking the anniversary of the death of a revered spiritual leader - of Rabbi Shneur Zalman in the Hebrew month of Tevet, usually in December or January, while the rest are local Jews who come in organized groups or as cohesive communities, along with tourists from Israel, Europe and the United States, who land in Chisinau and continue by car for a 12- to 15-hour drive.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman was born in Liozna, in White Russia, in 1745 and founded the Chabad Hasidic movement. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, his descendant, was the seventh in the dynasty. In 1812, Rabbi Shneur Zalman fled Liadi in White Russia because of the Russo-French War, after supporting the victory of the Russian czar and as Napoleon sought to harm him. During his flight to the city of Kremenchuk in Ukraine, he fell ill, and on Dec. 26, 1812, he died. He was taken by wagon to the city of Hadiach in the Poltava region, about 200 kilometers away, and was buried there.
Millions in damage to the site
Over the years, Jews have visited his grave. During the Holocaust, the city’s Jews were murdered, and during the communist period it was difficult for worshippers to reach the site. In the early 1990s, the Lubavitcher Rebbe sent special emissaries to restore the grave, and over the years the site became a pilgrimage destination.
The spacious compound was built nearly 20 years ago and continues to be developed. It includes a large synagogue, which was completely burned, a mikveh, dozens of guest rooms, a kitchen and spacious dining rooms, some of which were also damaged in the fire.
Hundreds of Jews live in the Poltava region. Rabbi Shneur Zalman Deitsch, the rabbi of Hadiach and the person responsible for the compound, maintains it throughout the year and receives worshippers. He was not in the city at the time of the fire.