In Their Everlasting Memory: Jews of Babruisk Travel to Commemorate Remote Communities

Members of the Jewish community of Babruisk, Belarus, led by Rabbi Shual Hababo, have adopted a tradition of traveling a few times a year to neighboring and remote villages and towns where Jewish communities once thrived before World War II, to commemorate the memory of the local Jews brutally murdered during the Holocaust.

Recently, the group of community members traveled to the ancient Jewish cemetery in Sherbin, the furthest location visited annually, 120 km away from Babruisk, where many Jews were slaughtered in horrific ways. They were joined by a few last remaining Jews living in the remote landmark, for the reciting of the traditional prayers of ‘Kel Male Rachamim’, Kaddish, and the reciting of psalms.

The voyage takes place thanks to the efforts of a Jew now living in Kazan, Russia, originating from the Sherbin Belarusian village.