The Passover Seder in Jewish Communities Across Ukraine
Passover is one of the most significant Jewish holidays, marking the Exodus from Egyptian slavery and celebrated as the Festival of Liberation.
At the heart of Passover there is the Seder (which means “order” in Hebrew), a ceremonial meal held on the first night of the holiday. During Seder, participants drink four cups of wine or grape juice, eat symbolic foods representing the hardships of the Israelites in the desert, and read the Haggadah — the story of the Exodus.
For over 30 years, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU) has done much to ensure a possibility to every Jew in Ukraine to take part in this meaningful celebration.
This year, more than 40,000 Seder kits were delivered to Jewish families across the country. Each kit included matzah, grape juice, candles, a ke’ara (Seder plate), the Haggadah, and even a kippah — everything needed to experience the warmth and richness of Passover traditions at home.
Thanks to the FJCU, over 150 communities in cities across Ukraine received matzah, grape juice, Haggadot, and other essentials to organize communal Seders and welcome the holiday together.
“Thank G‑d, since the early 1990s we’ve been helping communities across Ukraine organize public Seders,” said Rabbi Meir Tzvi Stambler, the Chairman of the FJCU Council.
“We have more than 150 communities holding Seders this year. In recent years, we’ve also started helping individuals by providing Seder kits, so they can celebrate at home — giving families the choice to either join the community Seder or observe it privately with loved ones. Because at its core, the Passover Seder is a family celebration. It focuses on children. On this night, we not only educate our children — we build our future, passing down traditions to the next generation, keeping them connected to Jewish identity.”
Chag Pesach Sameach!
Passover is one of the most significant Jewish holidays, marking the Exodus from Egyptian slavery and celebrated as the Festival of Liberation.
At the heart of Passover there is the Seder (which means “order” in Hebrew), a ceremonial meal held on the first night of the holiday. During Seder, participants drink four cups of wine or grape juice, eat symbolic foods representing the hardships of the Israelites in the desert, and read the Haggadah — the story of the Exodus.
For over 30 years, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU) has done much to ensure a possibility to every Jew in Ukraine to take part in this meaningful celebration.
This year, more than 40,000 Seder kits were delivered to Jewish families across the country. Each kit included matzah, grape juice, candles, a ke’ara (Seder plate), the Haggadah, and even a kippah — everything needed to experience the warmth and richness of Passover traditions at home.
Thanks to the FJCU, over 150 communities in cities across Ukraine received matzah, grape juice, Haggadot, and other essentials to organize communal Seders and welcome the holiday together.
“Thank G‑d, since the early 1990s we’ve been helping communities across Ukraine organize public Seders,” said Rabbi Meir Tzvi Stambler, the Chairman of the FJCU Council.
“We have more than 150 communities holding Seders this year. In recent years, we’ve also started helping individuals by providing Seder kits, so they can celebrate at home — giving families the choice to either join the community Seder or observe it privately with loved ones. Because at its core, the Passover Seder is a family celebration. It focuses on children. On this night, we not only educate our children — we build our future, passing down traditions to the next generation, keeping them connected to Jewish identity.”
Chag Pesach Sameach!
Odesa Honors the Memory of Nazi Victims on the International Day of the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps
On the eve of Passover, the Odesa Association of Jews - former inmates of ghettos and Nazi concentration camps — organized a memorial gathering and the laying of flowers at the Holocaust memorial ceremony in Odesa’s Prokhorivskyi Park to honor the victims of Nazism.
On this day in 1945, the prisoners of the Buchenwald concentration camp rose up against their Nazi captors and won their freedom. Since then, April 11 has been observed each year as the International Day of the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camp Prisoners.
During the memorial, Roman Shvartsman, the head of the Association and a survivor of the ghetto, addressed the attendees. He shared the story behind the establishment of this commemorative day, reflected on the tragedy of the Holocaust in the history of the Jewish people, and emphasized the critical importance of preserving historical memory — so that such horrors may never happen again.
Following the ceremony, participants laid flowers at the memorial sign “Path of Death” located in Prokhorivskyi Park.
May the memory of the victims be eternal.
On the eve of Passover, the Odesa Association of Jews - former inmates of ghettos and Nazi concentration camps — organized a memorial gathering and the laying of flowers at the Holocaust memorial ceremony in Odesa’s Prokhorivskyi Park to honor the victims of Nazism.
On this day in 1945, the prisoners of the Buchenwald concentration camp rose up against their Nazi captors and won their freedom. Since then, April 11 has been observed each year as the International Day of the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camp Prisoners.
During the memorial, Roman Shvartsman, the head of the Association and a survivor of the ghetto, addressed the attendees. He shared the story behind the establishment of this commemorative day, reflected on the tragedy of the Holocaust in the history of the Jewish people, and emphasized the critical importance of preserving historical memory — so that such horrors may never happen again.
Following the ceremony, participants laid flowers at the memorial sign “Path of Death” located in Prokhorivskyi Park.
May the memory of the victims be eternal.