A massive fire broke out shortly before midnight on Friday near the grave of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad Hasidic movement, in Hadiach, in Ukraine’s Poltava region.
The complex, which includes the main synagogue, sustained millions of dollars in damage and was largely destroyed. Initial assessments indicated that the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit, although investigators are still examining all possible causes.
The kitchen and guest facilities were also damaged. No injuries were reported, and the local Chabad emissary, Rabbi Shneur Zalman Deitsch, and his family are safe. No further details were immediately available.
Major prayer site amid the war
The gravesite complex is the second largest Jewish prayer site in Ukraine. Before the war, tens of thousands of people visited the site each year. Despite the ongoing war, it continues to attract approximately 10,000 visitors annually.
About one third of those visitors arrive for the commemoration of the rabbi’s death during the Hebrew month of Tevet, which usually falls in December or January.
Other visitors include local Jews traveling in organized groups, as well as tourists from Israel, Europe, and the US. Many fly to Chisinau, Moldova, and drive 12- to 15-hours to Hadiach.
The Ba'al HaTanya’s flight and death
Rabbi Shneur Zalman, also known as the Ba'al HaTanya, was born in Liozna, in what is now Belarus, in 1745 and founded the Chabad Hasidic movement.
In 1812, Rabbi Shneur Zalman fled his home in Liadi during the war between Russia and France.
He became ill while fleeing toward Kremenchuk, in what is now Ukraine, and died on December 26, 1812.
His body was transported by wagon approximately 200 kilometers to Hadiach, where he was buried. Jews continued to visit his grave over the years, but the city’s Jewish population was murdered during the Holocaust. Communist rule later made it difficult for worshipers to reach the site.
In the early 1990s, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson sent special emissaries to restore the grave. The site has since become a major Jewish pilgrimage destination.
The scale of the complex
The complex was established nearly 20 years ago and continued to expand over the years. It included a large synagogue, which was completely destroyed in the fire, a ritual bath, dozens of guest rooms, a kitchen, and dining halls. Some of the other facilities were also damaged.
Several hundred Jews live in the Poltava region. Rabbi Shneur Zalman Deitsch, the rabbi of Hadiach and the official responsible for the complex, was not at the site when the fire broke out.