An Appeal from 
Reb Michel Dorfman

I would like to invite you to take a brief moment to reflect on the great miracle we witness today as thousands and thousands of Jews stream to Uman all year round and especially for Rosh Hashanah: Jews from Ukraine and Russia, from Israel, U.S.A., Canada, South America, South Africa, Europe... Sefardim, Ashkenazim, b'nai Yeshiva, businessmen, 'more religious', 'less religious'... What a display of Jewish unity!

I was 15 years old when I was drawn by the magnetic pull of Rebbe Nachman, whose profound teachings give life and direction to every single Jew. The first time I attended the traditional Breslover Rosh Hashanah gathering in Uman was back in the dark days of 1928. Three hundred people took part. But the Soviet oppressors were seeking to destroy Judaism. I know: I spent six years and seven months in Siberia for Jewish observance. Soon after, our Rosh Hashanah gathering went underground. Yet we held a secret minyan in Uman every single year until I left Russia in 1971.

After that the minyan dwindled. And by 1979 the Russians were ready to wipe out all trace of Rebbe Nachman's grave with their plan to build a high-rise building on the site. Did they think they could extinguish the Rebbe's fire? The Almighty willed otherwise. Through the joint efforts of great Rabbonim and other influential figures - R. Moshe Feinstein z"l, the Lubavitcher Rebbe z"l, Rabbi Pinchas Teitz z"l, R. Aryeh Kaplan z"l, Rabbi Moshe Sherer, Mr. Elie Wiesel and others - U.S. President Jimmy Carter had the Soviets recognize Rebbe Nachman's grave as an International Shrine at the 1979 Vienna Summit.

Now Rebbe Nachman's fire is burning more brightly than ever. In the 1980's, Jews started streaming back to Uman. In 1988 the Rosh Hashanah gathering was resumed with official sanction. That year, two hundred and fifty people attended. Since then the figures have jumped year by year. This year seven thousand came from all over the world, as widely reported in the world press.

How can we stand idly by knowing that there is nowhere in Uman where all these Jews can pray - not on Rosh Hashanah nor during the rest of the year! There is not a single Beit Midrash where a Jew can open a sefer and study! There is no proper kosher kitchen. There are no classrooms and seminar rooms in which to organize teaching events for visitors as well as basic Jewish education for the local Ukrainian and Russian Jews who are literally thirsting for Judaism! This at a time when well-financed missionaries are working furiously to capture Jewish souls.

This is why it is so important for us to build the Rebbe Nachman Synagogue and Education Center in Uman. We are ready to erect a 5,500 seat Sanctuary specially designed to convert into the Study Hall, Seminar Rooms, Torah Library and Synagogue of a year-round multilingual Education Center complete with kosher kitchen and mikveh facility.

We have already seen great miracles. The land for the Center is legally owned by the World Council of Chasidei Breslov. All the bureaucratic obstacles have been removed. Our building plans have been approved by all the relevant authorities.

I now invite you to play your part in this great project by giving tzedakah for the construction, of the Rebbe Nachman Synagogue and Education Center in Uman. You will surely be blessed for joining in this mitzvah. For Rebbe Nachman said: 'Whoever I take from, I give to.'

Please take up this cause as your own, knowing that it will breathe life into dry bones, bringing unity to the Jewish People and peace to the entire world.

With respect,

Yechiel Michel Dorfman
Chairman, World Council of Chasidei Breslov.


THE REBBE NACHMAN SYNAGOGUE & EDUCATION CENTER will stand in a plot of 4,800 sq. m. The focal point will be the stunning fan-shaped Main Sanctuary. The 1400 sq. m. floor and two balconies adding another 1550 sq. m. will provide seating for 5,500 and standing room for another 2,000.
 

The fan effect will draw everyone's eyes to the Mizrach which is 40 m. in length. Special acoustic and other design features will create a sense of intimate involvement in services for all participants.

Overnight, a system of partitions transforms the main sanctuary into the Conference Hall, seminar rooms, Torah Library and Communications Center of the year-round Education Center, staffed by resident teachers and visiting scholars from Israel, U.S.A. Moscow, Kiev, etc. offering regular classes, special events and conferences.

A 200-seat side sanctuary will serve as permanent synagogue for Education Center staff & students and Uman residents, as well as for the many groups and individuals visiting Rebbe Nachman's gravesite throughout the year.

THE Education Center kitchen will cater for students and also provide kosher food parcels, Shabbos/Yom Tov hospitality and basic human warmth and kindness for needy Uman Jews, especially the elderly.

THE separate 700 sq. m. restroom/mikveh facility will contain restrooms, two main mikveh rooms with two pools each and a smaller mikveh.

M. MARGALITH ARCHITECT & URBAN PLANNERS LTD - JERUSALEM
M. MARGALITH A. KRAMTZ D. CHERIKOVER V. BERESTETSKY - ARCHITECTS


Dedications

THE ZOHAR STATES that when God wants to bless someone, He sends along a poor person for him to help. This is because the poor man does more for the donor than the donor does for the poor man. Only through the poor man can the donor receive the blessings that are the reward for giving charity.

 AS WE APPEAL for funding to build the Rebbe Nachman of Breslov Synagogue/Education Center in Uman, it is as if Rebbe Nachman himself stands before you in the guise of a poor person asking you for help. Your gift to Rebbe Nachman will enable him to help you, and God will have mercy on you and bless you and your dear ones with health, prosperity, peace and joy.

 "This center will bring our jewish brothers in the Ukraine and Russia back to Judaism after having been ruthlessly cutoff from the wellsprings of Torah for seventy years. This is truly the resurrection of the dead!-- Sefardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Shlita

Copyright © 1999 by Breslov Uman Synagogue Committee, All Rights Reserved
Permission granted to reproduce in News articles about Uman
This page maintained by Nassan Maimon, nasan@breslov.com