This is How Ukrainian Jews Celebrated Lag BaOmer

With a strong sense of Jewish unity and pride, optimism arose among the tens of thousands of Ukrainian Jews who participated this year in the Lag BaOmer events. The orphans’ leading the parade in Odesa, the horses used by marchers in Vinnytsia, the special permit from the Kharkiv municipality, and the umbrellas that accompanied the parade in Kyiv.

Lag BaOmer was celebrated across Ukraine with bonfires and colorful parades in honor of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, organized with dedication by community rabbis and Chabad emissaries. The parades were held in public spaces and, in some locations, required special permits from the municipalities due to the crisis situation.

Preparations for Lag BaOmer began right after Passover. FJC and Chabad’s vibrant network across Ukraine, the JRNU, distributed large shipments of branded water bottles for the parades, snacks, balloons, and large signs, along with various educational materials.

The Jewish community in Chernivtsi held two parades. The first was at the famous synagogue of Rabbi Israel of Ruzhin, with hundreds of local Jews participating. “On Friday, members of the community joined a special parade in the city of Mezhibuzh, where the Baal Shem Tov is buried,” said the city’s rabbi, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glitzenshtein.

In Zhytomyr, a large parade was held for children and their parents from all over western Ukraine. “Entire families came,” said Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm, Chabad emissary and Chief Rabbi of Zhytomyr and Western Ukraine. “Leading the parade were students from the FJC ‘Or Avner Chabad’ school, and the entire Jewish community came together.”

In Kharkiv, which has suffered from frequent shelling—including recently—Lag BaOmer celebrations were held at the historic compound of the ‘Tomchei Temimim’ yeshiva. The festivities, led by Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz, began with a Lag BaOmer parade that took place with special permission from the Kharkiv municipality, and concluded with a prayer for global peace.

As sirens and airstrikes have become a part of daily life, the Lag BaOmer parade in Odesa was particularly emotional – an event that became a symbol of Jewish light amid a dark reality. Hundreds of children participated in the parade, including 123 children from the “Mishpacha” orphanages, run by the Chief Rabbi of Odessa and Southern Ukraine, Rabbi Avraham Wolff. The children marched with singing and dancing and took part in moving activities dedicated to the figure of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and the message of unity he represents. The event included performances, plays, songs, distribution of sweets, Psalms, and balloons that carried prayers for peace – all under a warm and strengthening Jewish atmosphere.

In Vinnytsia, children marched on donkeys that were specially brought in as part of the community’s family-oriented celebration. Additional celebrations and parades took place in dozens of locations throughout Ukraine.