02/22/2023
Area Synagogues to Hold Shabbat for Ukraine Feb. 24
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Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
Photo / Unsplash
by Courtney Byrnes
Synagogues throughout Greater Cleveland are participating in Shabbat for Ukraine Feb. 24 by lighting a third candle to mark one year since the Ukraine crisis began.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Feb. 24, 2022, Jewish federations, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, The Jewish Agency for Israel and their partners mobilized to deliver humanitarian aid to Jews in Ukraine and those fleeing to neighboring countries, according to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
As the agencies continue to provide support to the growing needs, the Federation asks the Jewish community to reflect on the current crisis and “help bring light to those Ukrainian Jews still caught in darkness” as candles are lit on Shabbat.
As of Feb. 21, the Greater Cleveland synagogues participating in Shabbat for Ukraine include Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, Beachwood Kehilla, Green Road Synagogue, Oheb-Zedek Cedar Sinai, Congregation Sha’arey Tikvah and The Temple-Tifereth Israel, all in Beachwood, Beth El-The Heights Synagogue in Cleveland Heights, B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike, Temple Emanu El in Orange, and Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights and Pepper Pike.
Rabbi Matt Cohen of Temple Emanu-El told the Cleveland Jewish News the temple was planning a special Shabbat service for Ukraine to hold later in the year when the Federation approached it about participating, and therefore decided to move up their plans.
Rabbi Matt Cohen
“I think the main idea behind the Shabbat service is to raise awareness,” Cohen said. “I know that we will have at least one speaker come, a member of our congregation, who will share her experiences when she went to Krakow (last year) to bring supplies and other needs to people who are fleeing from Ukraine.”
He said Rabbi Chase Foster will be leading the service and hopes for it to be an opportunity for the community to reflect and stand with solidarity with Jews and non-Jews in Ukraine, especially given many Jewish people’s ancestral roots in the region.
“It’s about giving people here an understanding that there are human beings on the other side of the world that we may see on TV, we may hear about it,” he said. “But our Jewish faith calls us to recognize the dignity and worth of human life.”
Since the Ukraine war began, the Federations, JDC and JAFI have provided more than 43,000 Jews in Ukraine with life-saving services such as food, medicine and home care; evacuated over 13,000 Jews from Ukraine, including 170 medical evacuations of frail and sick elderly; and partnered with European Jewish communities to aid over 40,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing to neighboring countries at border crossings.
As the crisis continues, needs are growing as damage to Ukraine’s electricity and heating infrastructure has left many without light and warmth during a bitter winter. The partner agencies are “working around the clock” to provide more than 22,000 people with winter survival needs such as wood, coal, canned and dehydrated foods, support for covering utilities costs, heaters, warm clothes, blankets, sub-zero sleeping bags and electric bedding.
They continue to provide resettlement and integration assistance for refugees including food, medicine, accommodation, trauma support and educational scholarships, as well as working to strengthen Ukrainian hospitals and supporting access to healthcare for non-Jewish populations in Ukraine and refugees remaining in Europe.
As the third candle is lit on Shabbat for Jews in Ukraine, the Federation asks the community to “be a light for Jews caught in the Ukraine Crisis.”
To donate to the Ukraine/Ethiopia Emergency Rescue Fund, visit bit.ly/3IL4R4W.
If You Go
WHAT: Shabbat for Ukraine
WHEN: Feb. 24
WHERE: Synagogues across denominations throughout the Greater Cleveland community: Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, Beachwood Kehilla, Green Road Synagogue, Oheb-Zedek Cedar Sinai, Sha’arey Tikvah and The Temple-Tifereth Israel, all in Beachwood, Beth El-The Heights Synagogue in Cleveland Heights, B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike, Temple Emanu-El in Orange, and Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights and Pepper Pike as of Feb. 21.
INFO: Synagogues will light a third candle on Shabbat to mark one year since the Ukraine crisis began. For more information, visit bit.ly/3YSlQrp.
DONATE: To donate to the Ukraine/Ethiopia Emergency Rescue Fund, visit bit.ly/3IL4R4W.
