Baal Ha"Tanye's Yurzeit Brings Thousands of Jews from around the world To Haditch, Ukraine

The 24th of Teves brought this week thousands of Jews from around the world to the Ukrainian village of Haditch where they davened and joined Chassidic farbrengens. 

The date marked the yartzeit of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi,the Alter Rebbe who founded the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and authored the Tanya and Shulchan Aruch Harav. 

Visitors were welcomed at the tziyun holy gravesite and the Heichal Admur Hazaken building by Rabbi Shneur Zalman Deitsch, the local Shliach who oversees the activities and accommodations. 

“We began preparing for this date about 6 months ago,” he said. “Already 2 months before the yartzeit, all sleeping accommodations have been reserved. We see the number of visitors growing on the yartzeit and around the year.”

With the yartzeit coinciding with the secular new year, he said flights were not cheap this year. Another challenge has been the cold weather which brought heavy snow fall onto the town and the path down the hill to the kever. 

Nevertheless, hundreds were present on Monday night to daven and over the next 24 hours, minyanim, meals and Farbrengens took place in an ongoing loop of activity. Nigunim sang were heard from afar.