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 |