Visit Reintroduces Guests to Jewish Life in Belarus

Brest, Belarus — This week, the Jewish community of Brest has hosted a visit by a group from the USA and Israel. Many of the participants are senior citizens returning to see their hometown or the native land of their ancestors. Amongst them were several persons born prior to World War Two, including 93-year old Tsipora Rozenman, who brought her entire family with her to see the hometown of many generations of her family and the grave of their ancestors.

During their visit, the guests had the opportunity to spend time with Rabbi Chaim Rabinovich, the Chief Rabbi of the region and a Chabad Lubavitch emissary. On Saturday, they participated in prayers in the Synagogue, joined in a communal meal and sang old Jewish songs. At the meal, one of the elderly men expressed words of appreciation to Rabbi Rabinovich and the local Jewish community, stating that he experienced such communal Jewish activities for the first time in his life now at the age of 60 and that his life has now forever changed.

On Sunday, the guests joined members of the Brest Jewish community for a trip to the village ‘Bronnaya Gora’ to visit a mass graveyard where 50,000 Jews are buried. They were killed here during World War Two by invading Nazi troops. Today, a sign erected by the ‘Memorial’ organization hangs here bearing a solemn inscription in four languages – Yiddish, Hebrew, Belorussian and English.

While a monument to Holocaust victims was established a long time ago at this site, its text was only written in the Belorussian language. Fortunately, it was replaced with the new multi-language memorial board, which is made of steel. The commemorative gathering held here this past weekend involved more than 200 people, including representatives of the local Jewish community, residents of the village ‘Bronnaya Gora’, officials from the local administration and Brest Regional authorities.