The mayor of Uman, Ukrainia, personally escorted a group of II Hassidic Jews from Brooklyn to the tomb of the Bratzlaver Rebbe, which they had received special permission to visit, the leader of the group reported here.
Rabbi Leon Rosenfeld, leader of the Bratzlaver sect in Brooklyn, said he and his 10 followers conducted rites at the tomb in Uman of Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav, who died in 1810, and who is revered as one of the great 18th century leaders of the movement in Eastern Europe.
The mayor and his deputy led the group to the tomb and watched the rites. The mayor then invited the group to an official banquet at the town’s hotel. The Hassidim accepted the invitation, but ate the kosher food they had brought with them.
Rabbi Rosenfeld said his group had been impressed by the courtesy and interest shown by the Soviet officials. When the group arrived at the hotel, the street was filled with persons who wanted to see the American visitors to Uman, the rabbi said. The II visitors were allowed to stay in Uman only one day, however.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
