Chabad of Illinois service for Ukraine draws 600 to Skokie

It might be half a world away, but the war in Ukraine does affect people here.

A recent prayer service convened by Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois, which included a speaking role by Chabad of Northbrook Rabbi Meir Moscowitz, also aimed to impact those in Ukraine.

Moscowitz, who has visited Ukraine, said he has colleagues and friends in some of the 35 towns with Chabad centers in the nation under Russian siege. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the “Rebbe” who led the Chabad movement from 1950 until his death in 1994, was born in Nikolayev in southern Ukraine.

Moscowitz's wife, Miriam, has a cousin whose parents left Donetsk in 2014 to go to safer digs in Kyiv, where they helped establish a synagogue. Now they're again on the move.

“It's very traumatic,” Rabbi Moscowitz said.

“You're watching stories unfold and it's very close to home, and it's hard to believe that this is happening in this day and age. We're trying to do everything we can to help those who remain and those who are leaving,” he said.

Moscowitz, regional director of Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois, said there are about 350,000 Jewish people living in Ukraine, but as of March 10 some 30,000 had fled to safer locations within the country, with another 15,000 leaving for neighboring countries.

Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois has established a Ukraine Jewish Relief Fund at chabadillinois.com/ukraine.

Moscowitz said he's been receiving calls and texts from friends and relatives here trying to reach people overseas.

“Through our network, we're scrambling to make those connections,” Moscowitz said.

There were plenty of connections in the ballroom of the Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago North Shore in Skokie on March 7.

Moscowitz said about 600 people attended a prayer service for the people in Ukraine, with presentations by several prominent rabbis and Ukraine native Mushka Gurevitz, whose parents are Chabad emissaries there.

More than 1,000 people watched the event on Zoom. Also beaming in from afar was Rabbi Yechiel Levitansky, an American who years ago moved to Sumy, in Ukraine, to lead its Chabad center there.

Moscowitz said Levitansky “laid out the difficult facts on the ground,” stressing the need for life staples. Levitansky also noted his appreciation of concern and prayers.

“His words were both uplifting and heart-rending,” Moscowitz said.

The need for financial support is strong, but Moscowitz also stressed the focus on prayer for peace and safety of people in Ukraine that has encouraged his colleagues abroad.

“When someone does good in one place it has a ripple effect in another place,” the rabbi said.