A major fire broke out overnight Friday at a Jewish pilgrimage complex in the Ukrainian city of Hadiach, near the grave of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad Hasidic movement.
Initial reports said the blaze consumed the complex’s main building and caused extensive damage estimated in the millions of dollars. No injuries were reported.
Fire at complex honoring Chabad movement founder
The fire erupted shortly before midnight. The synagogue, kitchen and guest reception area were among the facilities that burned, while the main structure was almost completely destroyed.
The cause of the fire remained unclear. One initial possibility under investigation was an electrical short circuit, though authorities were examining all possible causes.
The burial complex in Hadiach is considered the second-largest Jewish prayer and pilgrimage site in Ukraine. Before Russia’s invasion of the country, tens of thousands of visitors came each year.
Despite the war, around 10,000 people continue to visit annually. About one-third arrive for the commemoration of Rabbi Shneur Zalman’s death in the Hebrew month of Tevet, usually in December or January.
Other visitors include local Jewish groups and organized communities, as well as tourists from Israel, Europe and the United States. Many fly to Chisinau, Moldova, before continuing to Hadiach by car on a journey lasting between 12 and 15 hours.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman was born in Liozna, in present-day Belarus, in 1745 and founded the Chabad movement. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was his descendant and the seventh leader of the Chabad dynasty.
In 1812, Rabbi Shneur Zalman fled Liadi during the war between Russia and France. He had supported the Russian czar’s victory, and Napoleon reportedly sought to harm him.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman fell ill while fleeing toward the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk and died on December 26, 1812. His body was transported by wagon some 200 kilometers to Hadiach in the Poltava region, where he was buried.
The complex engulfed in flames
Jews continued to visit the grave over the years, though the city’s Jewish population was murdered during the Holocaust and access for worshippers was restricted under Soviet rule.
In the early 1990s, the Lubavitcher Rebbe sent emissaries to restore the grave, and the site gradually developed into a major pilgrimage destination.
The spacious complex was established nearly 20 years ago and has continued to expand. It includes a large synagogue, which was completely destroyed in the fire, a ritual bath, dozens of guest rooms, a kitchen and large dining halls. Some of those facilities were also damaged.
Several hundred Jews live in the Poltava region. Rabbi Shneur Zalman Deitch, the rabbi of Hadiach and the official responsible for the complex, maintains the site throughout the year and receives visiting worshippers. He was not in the city when the fire broke out.