Rosh Hashanah celebration: over 35 thousand Hasidim have already arrived in Uman

Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the State Border Service of Ukraine, reported that as of September 22, more than 35,000 Hasidim had arrived in Uman to celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. The pilgrims arrived in organized groups from different countries, and some of them were denied entry due to problems with documents or previous violations of the law.

Rosh Hashanah celebration: over 35 thousand Hasidim have already arrived in Uman

He spoke about this on the national telethon.

As is known, every year Uman in Cherkasy region becomes a place of pilgrimage for tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews who come to pay homage to the grave of Rabbi Nachman, the founder of Bratslav Hasidism, and celebrate Rosh Hashanah. This year, the number of pilgrims has already exceeded 35 thousand people.

According to Demchenko, the movement of pilgrims to Ukraine has been going on for several weeks. At first, small groups of several hundred people crossed the border, but the main flow began in the last five days. On some days, the number of those crossing the Ukrainian border with the EU countries and Moldova reached from 4 to 11 thousand people.

“According to our estimates, over 35,000 Hasidic pilgrims, most of whom traveled in organized groups, have sought entry into Ukraine over the past few weeks,” Demchenko noted.

At the same time, not all the pilgrims managed to get to the celebration. Some of the Hasidim were denied entry to the territory of Ukraine. As the spokesperson for the border agency explained, this was due to problems with passport documents or entry bans issued by state authorities earlier due to violations of Ukrainian legislation.

“There were refusals related to passport documents or due to a ban on entry into Ukraine issued by state authorities even before this. That is, these foreigners could have previously violated Ukrainian legislation, which is why they were banned from entering,” Demchenko explained.

Rosh Hashanah celebrations in Uman will last several days and will traditionally be accompanied by mass prayers and rituals. Ukrainian law enforcement officers have tightened security measures in the city to ensure order during the stay of a large number of foreign pilgrims.

It was previously reported that in September, Hasidim celebrate an important holiday that symbolizes the beginning of the new year, Rosh Hashanah . The center of the celebration is the city of Uman in Cherkasy region, because it is there that the grave of the spiritual mentor of the Hasidic movement, Tzadik Nachman, is located. This year, Hasidim will celebrate Rosh Hashanah from September 22 to 24. The first pilgrims have already arrived in Ukraine. In total, 50 thousand pilgrims are expected.

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