Our Voices

The tragedy unfolding before our eyes in Ukraine continues to fill us with shock and horror. The sounds we hear of attacks from video clips pain our souls. The pictures on television hurt our hearts. And the testimonies from those who have endured the suffering echo in our minds long after we take in their stories. Russia’s cruel and deliberate targeting of civilian populations, the repeated intentional attacks on healthcare facilities, transit corridors, and buildings where Ukrainians have taken shelter, offends any sense of moral decency. As we observe the carnage from more than 6,000 miles away, the suffering of more than 10 million people who have been forced to flee from their homes in Ukraine—including an estimated 6.5 million men, women and children who are internally displaced as of this writing, and nearly 3.5 million people who have crossed international borders out of Ukraine as refugees—calls out to us. This is a humanitarian disaster, and due to modern technology and communications, we are observing the destruction of a country seemingly before our eyes.

In the weeks since Russia began its assault on Ukraine, many of us have learned more about the rich Jewish history and depths of Jewish spiritual life in Ukraine and our local connections to the history of Judaism in Ukraine. The great teacher the Baal Shem Tov founded Chasidism as a spiritual revivalist movement in Ukraine in the 18th century and Reb Nachman of Breslov, who encouraged extemporaneous prayer and living with simplicity, faith and joy, also lived in Ukraine. During the 20th century, more than 1.5 million Jews were killed in Ukraine during the Shoah. Ironically, at that time, Russian troops liberated the Jews of Ukraine from the Nazis, but now, Russians are bombing the country and deliberately targeting civilians of all faiths.

Many Ukrainian Jews have settled here in the Bay Area in recent decades and many of those are currently trying to help loved ones escape Ukraine. I have had conversations with those in our community who have either loved ones, friends, or colleagues about whom they are worried, either in Ukraine or in Russia (where life has changed suddenly for the worse as oppression and totalitarianism has intensified and sanctions are affecting daily life).

Along with other disturbing elements of this conflict, the Jewish community has been horrified by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s cynical lie that Russia’s unprovoked attack was needed to “denazify” Ukraine and its leadership—a claim made all the more bizarre by the fact that Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish and has said that three of his grandfather’s brothers were killed by German occupiers while his grandfather survived the war. We have also observed Israel’s Prime Minister, Naphtali Bennett, serve as a lead mediator  between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, an unprecedented role for an Israeli on the world stage. 

We often speak of Judaism as more than a religion. Going back to the time of the Bible, we have spoken of ourselves as a nation and people, and we have evolved through the centuries as a civilization and ethnic group—with a literature, language, and culture. We feel bonds to Jews in other lands, because, as our Talmud teaches us, all Jews are responsible for one another. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Israeli government so far has welcomed 6,000 Ukrainian refugees and estimates that there will be 50,000-100,000 new immigrants from Ukraine and Russia in the coming months. While we as individuals and as a community may not be able to stop the carnage, there are acts of kindness and justice that we can engage in (see www.sholom.org/ukraine for how we can help). 

As we watch from the safety of our homes, we also worry about the communities that are part of the network of Reform Judaism (called the World Union of Progressive Judaism) in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus—more than thirty-five congregations spanning eleven time zones, with offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv and Minsk. And we worry about the members of those synagogues and the five rabbis leading those communities, including Rabbi Alex Dukhovny from the congregation in Kyiv, who is now in Israel, whose video message we shared in an email to the congregation and with whom I have been in email contact.

As our hearts continue to ache for those affected by this harrowing conflict and for those struggling to rebuild lives that have been shattered, I was reminded of this prayer written by Rabbi Nathan Sternhartz of Nemirov in the spirit of his teacher, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, both of whom lived in an area that is now part of Ukraine. 

May it be Your will,
Holy One, our God, our ancestors’ God,
that you erase war and bloodshed from the world
and in its place draw down
a great and glorious peace
so that nation shall not lift up sword against nation
neither shall they learn war any more.

Rather, may all the inhabitants of the earth
recognize and deeply know
this great truth:
that we have not come into this world
for strife and division
nor for hatred and rage, 
nor provocation and bloodshed.

We have come here only
to encounter You,
eternally blessed One.

And so,
we ask your compassion upon us;
raise up, by us, what is written:

I shall place peace upon the earth
and you shall lie down safe and undisturbed
and I shall banish evil beasts from the earth
and the sword shall not pass through your land.
but let justice come in waves like water
and righteousness flow like a river,
for the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of the Holy One
as the waters cover the sea.

So may it be.
And we say:
Amen.

Visit www.sholom.org/ukraine for wonderful organizations doing admirable work in Ukraine and other ways to help.