Ukraine Seminar Tour - Part Two

Shabbat, after an 8AM breakfast (services started after 10 so we missed most of that), we walked through the center of Kyiv up the avenue, to the park, the University, the Opera, Golden Gate, St. Sophia, Independence Square and through a ten minute downpour (no umbrellas for us Shabbat observers) back to hotel. Supper at 8 and Havdala at just before 10PM

Next day, Sunday, after breakfast walking through nigh deserted streets

off to Odessa, 

via Umman the Israeli Shtetl:

and Rebbe Nachman's grave site

and the Sofia Park:

where they sell toy duplicates of the weapons the Cossacks beat Jews to death

and finally, the Bristol Hotel in Odessa.

and supper at Mendi's

Part One.

Part Three I.

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The Ukraine Seminar Tour - Part One

After the first Seminar Tour of the employees of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem to Warsaw, Brisky, Grodna and Vilna in 2016 (Part One is here. There are five more posts: Two; Three; Four; Five; Six), in the footsteps of Begin, this year I was invited to participate in the second, to Kyiv, Umman and Odessa, in the footsteps of Ze'ev Jabotinsky.

Eve Harow already interviewed me on her Rejuvenation program about the tour.

Jabotinsky was born in Odessa:

So, here we go:

Arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport at 2:45 AM

Waiting to board for a 5:30 AM flight

First stop, the PodolInn in Kyiv 

for breakfast

It adjoins a synagogue built in 1895

From there, to Babi Yar:

and the memorial ceremony

where I said the Kaddish after reciting Psalm 35:

There is no Hebrew writing on the entrance explanatory sign, no toilet either. The ravine surprised me as it is some 27 meters deep (before the 33,771 [the Nazis kept records] and more Jews later who were killed here and dumped into the ravine, the height was 50 meters).

From there, we drove to the center of town and boarded a river boat for an hour's cruise down and op the Dneiper River.

Our tour leader, Yehiel Fishzon:

And back to the hotel, the Premier Palace, built in 1912 and rennovated:

For Shabbat services, we were at the Brodski Synagogue

and on the way said 'Shalom Aleichem' to Sholom Aleichem:

Food was there via Chabad.

To be continued:

Part Two.

Part Three I.

Part Three II.

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Peace and the New Moon

How hard is it making peace with our neighbors?

Ask yourselves when is the New Moon.

For we Jews, the moonsighting was fixed on Monday evening at 3:33am and the New Month of Sivan is celebrated Monday evening-Tuesday.

For the Muslims, there's a problem.

Eid Al Fitr 2019 in UAE to begin on Tuesday, says moon-sighting committeeEid Al Fitr celebrations are expected to begin with Eid prayers at fajr, or dawn, on Tuesday

In the UK, the crescent moon was predicted to arrive at 11.02am this morning, according to UK Government agency HM Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO). The crescent moon should be visible globally on Wednesday, June 5th.

Sa’ad Abubakar, sultan of Sokoto, says the crescent moon of the month of Shawwal has been sighted, making Tuesday eid-el-fitr. The monarch disclosed this in a television broadcast.

Muslims in Malaysia will celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri on Wednesday (June 5). This was announced by the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal, Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad on Monday (June 3). 
"In following the decree by His Majesty, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, after consent from the Malay Rulers, I hereby declare the date for Aidilfitri for all states in Malaysia is on Wednesday, June 5, 2019,” he said. 

Saudi Arabia has just declared Tuesday as the first day of Eid Al Fitr.
Indonesia and Malaysia declared Wednesday as the first day of Eid Al Fitr but UAE residents are still waiting on an official announcement.

and

The Mufti of Palestine, Mohammed Hussein, announced that tomorrow, Tuesday, is the completion of the month of Ramadan and Wednesday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr.
The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia has officially announced that Tuesday is the first day of Eid al-Fitr, after the vision of the crescent has been confirmed, while Jordan announced that Tuesday will be the final day of Ramadan and tomorrow Wednesday the first day of Eid.

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